News 306K views since yesterday

Pickaxe Mountain nuclear strike unlikely, DW analyst says

Arash Azizi responds to Tucker Carlson's claim by examining the limits of military action against Iran's buried facilities and the prospects for diplomacy.

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DW News Story of November 4, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of DW News's most watched videos since yesterday, with 306,145 views.

Iran's 'Pickaxe Mountain': Is Trump weighing a nuclear strike? | DW News

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:00Reed introduces Carlson's claim about a possible strike; the segment does not establish a confirmed nuclear-attack plan.
1:22Azizi considers a nuclear attack unlikely because of its grave implications.
6:10Azizi questions conventional strikes' effectiveness against deeply buried facilities and argues that diplomacy is necessary.
9:51Azizi examines possible Iranian retaliation and the risk of a wider regional conflict.
11:23The discussion considers signs that both governments may prefer an agreement and Iran's ability to offer concessions.
14:30Azizi assesses how the U.S. midterms could affect Trump's foreign-policy decisions.

A nuclear attack on Iran's Pickaxe Mountain is unlikely, Middle East analyst Arash Azizi tells DW News, responding to Tucker Carlson's claim that the Trump administration is weighing such a strike.

The interview adds an assessment of the suspected underground nuclear site's vulnerability to the wider discussion of U.S. strikes and negotiations with Tehran. Carlson's assertion is the starting point, not a confirmed administration plan.

"I don't think it's very likely," Azizi tells presenter Jared Reed. He argues that President Donald Trump understands the grave implications of using a nuclear weapon.

DW pairs that assessment with footage of Trump explicitly naming the mountain as a target. "You probably could look at Pickaxe Mountain and you have to take care of that. We can do that all very easily," Trump says in the clip. Those remarks do not themselves specify a nuclear attack.

Azizi also questions how much conventional strikes could accomplish against deeply buried facilities. His central argument is that military action cannot resolve the underlying dispute and that a diplomatic agreement is necessary. He warns that further attacks could prompt Iranian retaliation against regional energy infrastructure and widen the conflict.

The discussion later turns to indications that Washington and Tehran may both prefer a negotiated settlement. Azizi argues that Iran can offer concessions, while examining how the U.S. midterms might affect Trump's room to make decisions.

The interview drew about 306,000 views since yesterday, making it DW News's most-watched new video over that period.

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