Inside the Pentagon: Officials Say Donald Trump's Threats Signal Lowering Nuclear Threshold Against Iran, Source Warns of Dire Consequences

Department of Defense officials and senior Republican figures are privately sounding alarms that President Donald Trump has been actively weighing the use of nuclear weapons against Iran.

Independent journalist Brian Karem spoke to an anonymous Pentagon official who told him that Trump’s April 7th apocalyptic Truth Social threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” brought chills to the Department of Defense.

Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with destruction and the obliteration of its critical infrastructure, including power plants, oil facilities and bridges, amid escalating military tensions and ultimatums.

He has issued severe ultimatums threatening to target and destroy key Iranian infrastructure — such as electric generating plants and oil hubs like Kharg Island — if Iran does not meet U.S. demands regarding regional shipping and the Strait of Hormuz.

Legal and international experts have scrutinized these threats, noting that calls for the widespread destruction of essential civilian infrastructure could raise serious questions under the laws of armed conflict.

In his most severe declaration in August, Trump ordered the IRGC to lay down arms under a promise of immunity, warning that the alternative is "certain death" and destruction.

“After what Trump said, everyone should have known this is on the table,” the Pentagon official told Karem. “What do you think he meant by that?”

On Sunday, August 16, former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has broken strongly with Trump on his flailing war in Iran, posted her own concerns on X.

“They are discussing using nuclear weapons on Iran in strategy meetings. Yes, you read that correctly. It’s real. I’m not speculating, I know. And it’s pure evil,” she wrote.

Greene added that Trump and his administration were told by American intelligence that Iran wasn’t close to creating a nuclear weapon, but they ignored it.

“Trump and his admin were told by our own intelligence that Iran was no where near creating a nuclear weapon, then Israel said the same line it’s repeated for decades, ‘Iran is only weeks away.’ So we bombed anyways, killed their leaders and innocent little children in a school, and Iran has controlled the Strait of Hormuz ever since and punished the region for their part in it. And now our government is the one actually discussing lowering the nuclear threshold in order to use nuclear weapons against Iran even though Trump claims he’s won the war like 40 times and says the U.S. controls the SoH,” she said.

Former Barack Obama State Department official Joel Rubin isn’t as concerned as Greene and some Pentagon officials.

“I think that’s way off. It’d kill the oil there. No way. He needs to keep the oil companies happy,” Rubin said.

Chris Vance, a senior advisor for the anti-Trump “Our Republican Legacy” (ORL) project, said Republicans are “searching for sanity” as the octogenarian POTUS becomes more unhinged.

“They definitely know he’s dangerous, but because of greed or personal interest they aren’t going to come forward. Those who have are those he’s pushed out of office,” Vance said.

As the GOP loses confidence in Trump acolyte and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, some see his eventual removal as a slight comfort.

“Insiders say the lack of confidence in Hegseth, along with the rapid depletion of America’s missile arsenal, both contribute to a growing unease that will only ‘ease somewhat’ if Hegseth is forced out,” Karem wrote.

Greene doesn’t think there’s time to wait.

“People need to speak out and boldly stop this insanity. America is not untouchable. If and when that happens, everyone, and I do mean everyone, will hold ALL of those in leadership right now fully responsible for the rest of human history. Do not use nuclear weapons and stop this war NOW,” she urged.