Trump ‘Deadly Serious’ About Stopping Iran From Getting Nukes, Waltz Says

Jeremy Frankel | February 17, 2025 7:00 PM

National security adviser Mike Waltz said Sunday that President Trump is “deadly serious” about stopping Iran from ever obtaining nuclear weapons.

Waltz, on “Fox News Sunday,” was reacting to a report from last week which indicated that Israel may strike Iran’s nuclear program, with the report saying that Israel “is likely to attempt a strike on Iran’s Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities in the first six months of 2025,” and that the U.S. may provide support “in the form of aerial refueling as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.”

“I can speak to what the president has repeatedly said and that is Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. That not only would be existential for Israel, I think it would be existential for the entire world, because it could kick off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East,” Waltz said. “How we get there, I’m not going to get into the details here, but the president has also expressed a willingness to take whatever action is necessary. All options are on the table, but also to talk to Iran as well if they want to give up their entire program and not play games as we’ve seen Iran do in the past in prior negotiations.”

“I’ll promise you this: President Trump is absolutely serious, deadly serious, when he says Iran can never have a nuke, and certainly not on President Trump’s watch; they are an irrational actor that we cannot allow to have their finger on the button,” Waltz concluded.