US President Donald Trump ruled out using nuclear weapons against Iran, saying Washington did not need them and emphasizing that the "mother of all bombs" was non-nuclear.
Asked during an interview Thursday with Newsmax about reports that his administration was considering using the bomb against Iran, potentially after the US midterm elections, Trump stressed that it was a conventional weapon.
"The mother of all bombs is not nuclear," Trump said, adding: "This is just an extremely large bomb."
He reiterated that the weapon was not nuclear.
"The mother of all bombs is one big bomb, but it's not nuclear," he said.
Trump ruled out using nuclear weapons, saying the US did not need to resort to them.
"No, I wouldn't use nuclear. We don't have to," he said.
Trump also raised the possibility of further strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, including a suspected underground site known as Pickaxe Mountain.
"Now, we're looking at Pickaxe Mountain. We may have to go there," he said.
"We'll take a shot at that one. We'll knock it out fast."
Asked whether such an operation would involve American ground troops, Trump replied: "No, I don't see that. I don't see that."
He said withdrawing before ensuring Iran could not obtain nuclear weapons might require further US military action within a year.
"We want to make it so that they will never have a nuclear weapon," he said.
- 'Iran war will be over very soon'
Trump also predicted that the war would end soon, saying Tehran was negotiating with Washington.
"The Iran war will be over very soon. It's going to end very soon," he said.
"One way or the other, it'll end very soon. And oil will go dropping like a rock — and gas prices as well."
Trump claimed Iranian officials had requested a halt to American and Israeli military operations.
"They've asked us to please stop. And we do, because we're negotiating with them," he said.
Asked whether he trusted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump responded: "I don't trust anybody, honestly."
"I don't trust anybody," he said. "In the world of politics, I don't trust anybody."
