Donald Trump has claimed multiple times the US military has dealt heavy blows to Iranian defences and its army.

21:36, Thu, Apr 23, 2026 Updated: 21:50, Thu, Apr 23, 2026

President Trump

Donald Trump attended an event at the White House today (Image: Getty)

Donald Trump hit out at a reporter after being asked about the possibility of using nuclear weapons against Iran. The US President took part on Thursday evening in a televised meeting called by the White House the "Health Care Affordability Event".

Sitting behind his desk in the Oval Office, Mr Trump also discussed the conflict in Iran - including the US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz - as well as a deal with the regime. Taking questions from reporters, Mr Trump was asked whether he would hit Iran with nuclear weapons, a question which he quickly dismissed.

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The US President replied: "No, I wouldn't. Why would I need it? Why would a stupid question like that be asked?"

Mr Trump went on to repeat, as he has done multiple times over the past few weeks, that the Iranian military has been hit hard by the US.

He said: "Why would I use a nuclear weapon when we totally, in a very convincing way, decimated them? A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody."

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Iran’s Navy is lying at the bottom of the Sea, their Air Force is demolished, their Anti Aircraft and Radar Weaponry is gone, their leaders are no longer with us, the Blockade is airtight and strong and, from there, it only gets worse — Time is not on their side!"

Donald Trump sitting behind his desk

Trump ruled out using nukes against Iran (Image: Getty)

While he ruled out using nukes against Iran, Mr Trump continues to threaten the regime with conventional force, as he said US forces were "locked and loaded".

He said: "We've never had so much ammunition - our ships are loaded."

Mr Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran earlier this week, and has said he is in no rush to strike a deal with the country.

The ceasefire announcement was followed by Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for oil and gas tankers. But the regime started barring the passage of vessels again after Mr Trump said the US blockade would not end during the ceasefire.