“Before the June 2025 strike on its nuclear sites, Iran was about two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon.” — Donald Trump. Our verdict: Misleading.
Donald Trump said this at a campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, on 14 October 2026, as reported by The Jerusalem Post, Anadolu Agency and Al Jazeera.
Our verdict
Misleading
Misleading. Iran was close to having uranium enriched enough for a bomb, but experts said turning it into a working weapon would take months to two years, not two weeks.
What we found
At his rally in Arizona on 14 October 2026 Donald Trump said Iran had been roughly two weeks away from a nuclear weapon before the US strikes of June 2025, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Part of this has a basis. In June 2025 Iran held a large stock of uranium enriched to 60%, and experts said it could have enriched some of it to weapons grade within days to weeks.
But weapons-grade uranium is not a weapon. Experts quoted by PolitiFact in June 2025 said building a working bomb would take several months or more, and six months to two years for one small enough to put on a missile. The Arms Control Association's Daryl Kimball said Iran was "not weeks away from having a nuclear weapon". In March 2025 the US intelligence community said Iran was not building one.
The evidence
1 of 2 sources contradict the claim; none support it.
- Background
The Jerusalem Post reports Trump saying at the Bullhead City rally that Iran was roughly two weeks away from a nuclear weapon before the June 2025 strikes. [1]
- Contradicts the claim
Experts said Iran was close to bomb-grade uranium, but a deliverable bomb would take months to two years; Daryl Kimball said Iran was not weeks away from a nuclear weapon. [2]
What we could not confirm
- What classified US intelligence said about Iran's timeline in June 2025.
How we checked
We read reports of the 14 October rally and expert assessments of Iran's nuclear timeline published in June 2025. We reviewed 2 relevant sources.
Sources
- [1]The Jerusalem Post · Donald Trump speaks at Arizona midterm election rally · October 15, 2026
- [2]PolitiFact · Ask PolitiFact: Was Iran 'weeks away' from having a nuclear weapon, as Trump said? · June 23, 2025
- [3]Photo: Daniel Torok / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
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