United States President Donald Trump stated unequivocally on Thursday, April 23, that he will not deploy nuclear weapons against Iran, dismissing the very suggestion as unnecessary given the scale of conventional military operations already carried out in the nearly three-month-old conflict.
Speaking with reporters during an Oval Office event at the White House, Trump rejected the question directly. “Why would I use a nuclear weapon? We’ve totally, in a very conventional way, decimated them without it,” Trump said in response to a question from Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) News correspondent Liz Landers. He added that he would not use such weapons and that “a nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody.” He described the question itself as “stupid.”
The statement provides an explicit public commitment that contrasts sharply with some of the most extreme rhetoric issued by the administration during the conflict. On April 7, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Iran failed to agree to terms before an 8 p.m. Eastern time deadline tied to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Hours later, following Pakistan-brokered mediation, he agreed to suspend bombing operations for a two-week period. That ceasefire has remained in effect while diplomatic contacts and military pressure continue.
The nuclear clarification fits within the broader stated objectives of Operation Epic Fury, the codename for the United States and Israeli military campaign launched on February 28, 2026. The White House has consistently framed the operation around four goals: destroying Iran’s ballistic missile infrastructure, dismantling its navy, severing its support for regional armed groups, and permanently preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Trump reiterated that last objective as his central concern, describing his aim as securing “an Iran without a nuclear weapon that’s going to try and blow up one of our cities or blow up the entire Middle East.” Iran has repeatedly denied pursuing nuclear weapons capability. The United States’ own Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, told the Senate Intelligence Committee this year that Iran made no attempt to rebuild its nuclear enrichment infrastructure after it was destroyed in last year’s strikes under Operation Midnight Hammer.
Trump’s Thursday statement does, however, sit in tension with longstanding United States nuclear doctrine. Washington has historically reserved the option of nuclear first use and has consistently resisted adopting a formal “no first use” policy across administrations. While the president’s remarks carry no legal binding force, they represent one of the most explicit public commitments of this kind made by a sitting United States president during an active conflict.
On the question of how long negotiations with Iran might take, Trump offered no specifics. “Don’t rush me,” he told reporters.
