Iran State Media Airs Nuclear-Attack Shelter Guide. Trump Says 'I Don't Need' Nukes

Since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran on Feb. 28, and through a ceasefire that followed a June memorandum, the conflict has settled into a stalemate with both sides claiming victory. The newest wrinkle is a nuclear one. Iranian state media has aired civilian instructions for surviving a nuclear blast, while a rumor of a US nuclear option is being denied by the president himself.

What Iranian state media put on air

Iran's official news agency IRNA published a report in late October, dated Oct. 28 in some accounts, as part of the country's annual Passive Defense Week. It featured the Isfahan Red Crescent Society and emergency services. An accompanying clip of roughly eight minutes walked viewers through the estimated effects of a 15-kiloton tactical nuclear device detonated underground.

The advice is practical. Ebrahim Adelzadeh, deputy director of education and research at the Isfahan Red Crescent Society, told IRNA that "a basement or a room in the central part of a building, away from windows, can be a suitable shelter if it can be accessed safely."

Residents were told to close doors and windows and shut off air conditioners and any ventilation that draws in outside air. Anyone caught outdoors was told not to look at the flash, to lie low behind a barrier and to protect the head and face.

Adelzadeh also warned that radioactive particles can travel well beyond the blast site. People far away, he said, should "take official warnings seriously." Those exposed to dust were told to bag their outer clothing and wash with lukewarm water and soap.

The video also cautioned against taking iodine-containing medication without medical guidance. Regional outlets reported that the instructions included preparing to stay sheltered for 24 hours.

Iran's chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense falls under the National Organization of Passive Defense, part of the armed forces General Staff. IRGC Brig. Gen. Gholamreza Jalali has led it for more than 20 years. Tehran-based security analyst Alireza Taghavinia told Newsweek that Iran's readiness efforts date to the 1980-88 war with Iraq, when Saddam Hussein's forces used chemical weapons on Iranian troops.

The Carlson claim and Trump's answer

The guidance was published days before commentator Tucker Carlson posted on X on Sunday, Nov. 1, that Netanyahu had pressured Trump into considering nuclear means to reach Pickaxe Mountain. The site sits in the Karkas Mountains in Isfahan, about a mile south of Natanz. Iran is suspected of having resumed enrichment beneath it.

No document or named official has been presented to back Carlson's claim.

Trump rejected it Tuesday, Nov. 3. "I don't need it," he told Politico. Israel, widely believed to hold its own nuclear arsenal, has not publicly discussed using nuclear weapons against Iran.

Trump's denial sits beside his own rhetoric. On Sunday he said the war would end "very soon one way or the other" and that Tehran should take a deal or "the hammer" would come down. He has not said what the hammer is.

Tehran's deterrence messaging

Iran's military has spent the past month talking up what it would do if fighting resumes. IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said late last month: "The world will be amazed. We have new targets that have not yet been attacked." He added, "The war is not over. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has prepared itself for a long-term war."

On Sunday, Mohebbi said the IRGC was "100 percent ready" and described "maximum deterrence" as a goal Iran would reach in the near future. Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said the military would lean on "asymmetric warfare" to offset US equipment superiority. He said some weaponry was renovated and new equipment added during the ceasefire.

Hossein Kanani Moghaddam, a former senior IRGC commander, told Al Jazeera that Iran's target database has "significantly expanded" and that missile range, accuracy and warheads have improved. Iranian commanders have floated cutting undersea internet cables, striking AI data centers and hitting regional oil and gas facilities. Commanders are also reported to have met Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on responses to a new attack.

Those are Iranian claims. None has been independently verified.

Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS, citing security officials, reported that Iran has about 1,700 ballistic missiles able to reach Israel and a large drone stockpile. These are unconfirmed estimates.

The diplomatic stall

Both ends of the argument are speaking in terms of deterrence. Iranian officials say their shelter guidance and threats are defensive preparation. Trump says he has no need for nuclear weapons.

The diplomatic track is stuck. i24NEWS reported that Iran has laid out conditions for a permanent settlement. They include an end to fighting on all fronts including Lebanon and Gaza, sanctions relief, unfrozen assets, war-damage compensation, recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf security arrangements without US involvement. The same report said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has dismissed letters from Vice President J.D. Vance as unconvincing.

Ordinary Iranians are bracing for a restart. "Every single day and every night, we're waiting for the bombing to start again," a 70-year-old Tehran resident told CNN, speaking anonymously.

It is unclear whether Washington and Tehran will return to the table before Trump's "one way or the other" deadline arrives. Neither government has announced new talks.