WASHINGTON, February 24. /TASS/. US reporter and one of the most popular conservative commentators, Tucker Carlson, is making a "last-ditch effort" to convince President Donald Trump not to go to war with Iran, US analyst and blogger Andrew Napolitano told TASS in an interview.

"I do believe that my friend and former Fox colleague, Tucker Carlson, is with the president this afternoon (on February 23 - TASS) in one last-ditch effort to talk him out of the war in Iran," said the analyst, who also hosts the Judging Freedom podcast.

Possibility of strike

At the same time, Napolitano believes that Trump's use of force against Tehran is practically predetermined. The question now, he pointed out, is how large-scale this military campaign will be. On June 22, 2025, the US carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow.

"I think the Zionist pressure on Trump is so great, and the [US] military buildup up there (in the Persian Gulf area - TASS) is so vast and so expensive that he will feel that he needs to pull the trigger. The question is not ‘if,’ it's ‘when,’ and then the second question is, whether is it a series of pinpricks, or is it a full-fledged non-ground invasion," the blogger emphasized.

Napolitano also noted that a new potential US military operation against Iran would be a coup attempt in Tehran. "This stuff about nuclear weapons is a facade," he stressed. According to the analyst, Israel and the US circles actively supporting it seek "to topple the regime" and "install some puppet government." "They couldn't care less about democracy," he concluded.

Iran and the US are expected to hold a new round of talks in Geneva on February 26. The US delegation will be lead by special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. On February 17, the second round of Oman-mediated talks between the US and Iran on the nuclear dossier took place in Geneva. According to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the parties reached a mutual understanding on several issues that could be included in the draft of a future nuclear program deal. US Vice President JD Vance said that the talks went well on a number of issues, but Tehran is not yet ready to accept a number of fundamental positions outlined by the White House. Earlier, the US and Israel insisted that Iran not only renounce the development of its nuclear program but also the production of ballistic missiles and its support of pro-Iranian forces in the Middle East.

In January, the White House warned that it was ready to use force if Tehran did not agree to negotiate a fair deal involving the complete rejection of nuclear weapons. The Pentagon has amassed substantial military forces, including two aircraft carrier strike groups, in the Middle East. On February 19, the US administration announced that it had given Iran a maximum of 15 days, starting from that date, to reach an agreement.