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WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said the US may have to target Pickaxe Mountain, a site linked to Iran’s nuclear program, as he aims to ensure Tehran does not get a nuclear weapon. In an interview with Newsmax on Thursday night, Trump also said he would not use a nuclear weapon in the war on Iran, which began in February with US-Israeli strikes.
* Trump said the US wanted to make sure Iran will never have a nuclear weapon “because if they had it, they would use it.”
* “Their nuclear is buried under millions of tons of mountain. Now we’re looking at Pickaxe Mountain. We may have to go there. We’ll take a shot at that one. We’ll knock it out fast,” Trump told the news outlet.
* Pickaxe Mountain is a fortified facility buried deep underground near one of Tehran’s main nuclear sites.
* The US president said there was no need to use a nuclear bomb in Iran. “I wouldn’t use nuclear. We don’t have to.”
* Trump reiterated he was not considering using US ground troops in Iran
* Trump did not say if he had authorized the use of GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, also known as the “mother of all bombs,” against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites. He did say the MOAB bomb was not a nuclear bomb.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Editing by Nick Zieminski)