What happened
A former CIA agent, John Kiriakou, has claimed that US President Donald Trump is considering a nuclear strike on Iran to destroy its underground facility at Pickaxe Mountain. Kiriakou, who worked at the Central Intelligence Agency from 1990 to 2004, warned that Trump wants to break the 'final taboo' around dropping nuclear bombs, and that this would have severe consequences.
The claim comes amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran, with the US recently authorizing defensive strikes on Iranian targets on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes were reportedly in self-defence and in response to Tehran's continued targeting of maritime shipping and American assets in the region.
Experts have downplayed the chances of Trump ordering a nuclear strike, but have not ruled it out entirely. The deployment of nuclear weapons would be a major escalation in the war, and could have severe and far-reaching consequences, including radioactive fallout spreading hundreds of miles across the Middle East.
