What a stupid question: Trump berates reporter over Iran nuclear weapons question
By Mercy Ajekigbe
US President Donald Trump has ruled out using nuclear weapons on Iran to end the conflict that has dragged on for 6 months.
Speaking during an Oval Office meeting on Monday, August 31, 2026, Trump dismissed the possibility of using nuclear weapons when asked about it by a reporter, whom he later berated for what he described as a “stupid question.”
“I would never say that. But the answer’s yes. I rule out. There’s no reason for it.What a stupid question that is, actually! Here they’re totally defeated, I defeat them and now I should use a nuclear weapon on top of it? What a stupid question!”
Trump said that the US had already claimed its victory in the war without the need to deploy nuclear weapons.
He further reiterated that the purpose for U.S. military operations against Iran was to ensure Iran never possesses a nuclear weapon, expressing concerns over what Iran might do with such military capacity.
“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. If Iran had a nuclear weapon, Israel would have been wiped out…And they’d be hitting our cities at some point because they’re sick people.”
Although Trump ruled out nuclear warfare, he had signaled plans to attack Iran in response to retaliatory strikes Iran carried out against two U.S. bases in Jordan on August 30, 2026.
The strikes, which were intercepted before hitting the targets in Jordan, came after U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island.
The exchange of attacks followed weeks of relative calm between the two countries, since the war began.
