Alleged Nuclear Options Discussed in the Trump Administration

Citing a NUKEMAP simulation of a 15-megaton surface detonation in Isfahan province’s Pickaxe Mountain area, Abdi said the model estimates nearly 1.9 million people killed and more than 523,000 injured from immediate effects alone, not counting long-term radioactive fallout. He emphasized that the nuclear taboo has endured for 81 years and that breaking it for a “tactical purpose” would threaten global norms.

Common Dreams

He also claimed the United States “controls the Strait of Hormuz” and suggested that the conflict is being won repeatedly. According to Abdi, the Defense Department is drafting a new nuclear doctrine that envisions possible tactical nuclear use in wars with Russia or China, indicating a broader shift in U.S. nuclear policy considerations.

Common Dreams

The February 28 bombing of an elementary school in Minab marked the war’s first day and was followed by additional strikes on civilian infrastructure across Iran. If a nuclear option were pursued, the projected casualties from the Isfahan simulation would dwarf existing war losses, potentially killing millions and injuring hundreds of thousands, with fallout effects extending far beyond Iran’s borders.

Common Dreams

• “Trump promised no more foreign wars, but may actually be the one who delivers a nuclear holocaust that would likely drag the entire world into major conflict, economic depression, and mass human suffering we've never seen in our lifetimes and maybe throughout history,” — Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene

Common Dreams