Guest claims Iranian president threatened Pakistan PM with possible nuclear detonation
"But the thing is, and this was confirmed already by us two months ago by Larry and myself when we received the information that President Bzashkin in his phone call to Pakistani Prime Minister Shabbash Sharif said that if the Americans continue like this, we will be forced to detonate a device in Iranian soil to prove our deterrence."
About this episode
In this 93-second exchange from Judging Freedom, host Judge Andrew Napolitano asks whether Iran has a nuclear device it is “about to test”. The guest replies that “nobody knows for sure” because, he argues, Iran practises “strategic ambiguity”, and he suggests multiple possibilities including that Iran might need “one week to 10 days” to obtain a device or could acquire one “from outside actors”.
The guest then makes a more specific, but unverified, claim: he says he and a colleague (“Larry”) received information two months earlier alleging that Iran’s president told Pakistan’s prime minister by phone that if the Americans “continue like this”, Iran would be “forced to detonate a device in Iranian soil” to prove deterrence. He further claims there was “indirect confirmation via the majis”, referring to Iran’s parliament, that the country’s nuclear programme should be accelerated and that “all options are on the table”, including a “nuclear device”.
No documentary evidence, recordings, or corroborating sources are provided in the clip for the alleged phone call or parliamentary messaging, and the guest repeatedly frames the situation as uncertain due to Iran’s deliberate ambiguity.
Key takeaways
- Napolitano asks whether Iran has a nuclear device it is about to test.
- The guest says “nobody knows for sure”, citing Iran’s “strategic ambiguity”.
- The guest alleges he received information that Iran’s president warned Pakistan’s prime minister Iran might detonate a device on Iranian soil if US pressure continues.
- He also claims Iran’s parliament has signalled acceleration of the nuclear programme with “all options” available.