Trump on Iran Nukes: Must 'Blow Them Up'

President Donald Trump issued a blunt warning to Iran during an interview Wednesday on "The Hugh Hewitt Show," declaring that the Islamic Republic must dismantle its nuclear program or face overwhelming military force.

"There are only two alternatives — blow them up nicely or blow them up viciously," Trump said of Iran's uranium enrichment centrifuges, emphasizing that the United States will not tolerate nuclear threats under his leadership.

Trump said he was open to a deal with Iran, but insisted it must include full and verifiable denuclearization. "I would much prefer a strong, verified deal where we actually blow them up, but blow them up or just de-nuke them. But the other alternative, there are only two alternatives there — blow them up nicely or blow them up viciously," he said.

On the issue of Israel, Trump reaffirmed his steadfast alliance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and expressed alarm over the surge in antisemitism across the United States.

"Well, I think I'm crushing it more than anybody ever, and I think nobody's been better to Israel as a president than me, by a factor of about 20. In fact, I could say maybe nobody's ever been better than me on Israel," the president asserted. "And I am shocked to see what I'm seeing, because if you look back at the old days of the Holocaust, you're seeing the same kind of thing happening now."

The president singled out Harvard University for fostering anti-Israel activism, vowing to pursue reviews of tax-exempt status for institutions where antisemitism is "out of control." "Harvard is totally antisemitic," he said. "We're going to go after that."

He also mocked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, saying "he's become a Palestinian," in reference to the senator's recent criticism of Israel's war strategy in Gaza.

The interview covered a wide range of issues, but Trump repeatedly returned to Middle East policy, asserting that the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in Israel and the broader regional instability would not have happened under his first administration. "Think of what would have happened ... you wouldn't have had the border, 21 million people ... you wouldn't have had Russia-Ukraine. You wouldn't have had Oct. 7 with Israel," he said.

This JNS.org report was republished with permission from Jewish News Syndicate.