Former Trump adviser says U.S. may use nuclear weapons if it fails to oust Iran’s regime

After six months of war, the United States and Iran remain locked in a deadlock. Iran continues to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, while Washington maintains retaliatory sanctions against Tehran’s ports.

That impasse could push the United States toward nuclear weapons, Joe Kent, a former counterterrorism adviser to President Donald Trump, said after conventional efforts to remove Iran’s leadership failed. Appearing on Tucker Carlson’s podcast last week, Kent called the nuclear option realistic. “We would be foolish to think that this could not happen here, in the current situation, particularly when the Trump administration is trying to find a way out,” he said.

Kent argued that Trump had failed to achieve his shifting objectives in the conflict despite using the full range of U.S. military and economic capabilities. If Washington still wanted to remove Iran’s leadership and force the country into “total surrender,” Kent said, only two options remained: a full-scale ground operation or a nuclear attack.

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We would be foolish to think that this could not happen here, in the current situation, particularly when the Trump administration is trying to find a way out.

He said a ground invasion could not be carried out because of Iran’s vast territory and large population. “If you continue down this scenario for long enough, you will reach the use of weapons of mass destruction fairly quickly,” Kent said. He speculated that Washington could hypothetically choose a limited nuclear strike against concealed underground uranium-enrichment facilities in Iran’s mountainous areas.

The United States abruptly suspended its latest wave of attacks against Iran late last month after media reports said the Pentagon’s stocks of precision weapons and interceptor missiles were running low. Trump and other senior U.S. officials strongly denied that the country faced an ammunition shortage, saying the Pentagon still had sufficient supplies. Trump later announced a major economic sanctions campaign against Iran, calling it Iran’s “Economic Day of Reckoning.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent then announced new sanctions targeting nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels across several jurisdictions.

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If you continue down this scenario for long enough, you will reach the use of weapons of mass destruction fairly quickly.