President Donald Trump’s threat to Iran Tuesday, that “a whole civilization” would be wiped out, sparked concern online that the U.S. could be poised to use a nuclear weapon against Iran.

The president’s Truth Social post, which began, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will” immediately saw reaction on social media.

While Trump did not specify a nuclear weapon would be used, and no credible sources have stated this, commentators on all sides of the political spectrum have warned it possible.

“Wake up: he is calling for A NUCLEAR STRIKE. Seek his removal immediately,” Anthony Scaramucci, the 2017 White House communications director, posted to X.

What Did Trump Say?

Trump, having told the press on Monday he could not say if the war in Iran was winding down or ramping up, took to his social media platform Tuesday morning to issue a threat to the Middle Eastern country, with a deal not yet in sight over ending the conflict.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump posted. “However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”

The president’s post followed a similar message he gave during his Monday press conference, where he said the entire country—Iran—could “be taken out in one night” and said that night could be Tuesday.

What Was the Reaction to Trump’s Threat?

The post saw much discussion online and on morning TV news channels, with CNN asking Republican New York Representative Mike Lawler if he supported seeing the U.S. end a civilization.

“No, I don’t support making a whole civilization die, but certainly the end of this terrorist regime that has been in effect for 47 years,” Lawler said. “I do support what the administration has done over these past five weeks to decimate their capabilities.”

Lawler said Iran had been given opportunities to end its nuclear program, and that Trump had no choice but to escalate the actions against the Iranian regime.

Others were more critical of the president’s words, including former GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who posted to X, “25TH AMENDMENT!!! Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness.”

Maral Karimi, an author who has written about Iran, said the post was: “The taunts of an unhinged lunatic with access to nuclear codes.”

“Trump is openly threatening war crimes when he states ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’,” Karimi said. “Nothing has been off-limits so far: not schools, not hospitals, not bridges, and not even synagogues.”

There have been reports that a strike has caused extensive damage to a synagogue in Tehran.

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson spoke Monday night about the potential for nuclear war, telling his audience on The Tucker Carlson Show that the Trump administration had reached the end of its conventional power.

“If you reach the end of your conventional power, where does that leave you? Oh, with non-conventional power. What’s that a euphemism for? Nuclear weapons,” he said. “The effects of that hardly need to be explained, they can’t fully be known because modern nuclear weapons have never been used.”

Carlson said the reality would be that life would not be possible in Iran, or likely in neighboring countries in the Gulf.

Commentator Dominic Michael Tripi took to X Tuesday morning, saying: “The deployment of a nuclear weapon is now a distinct possibility. Madness.”

What Happens Next

On Tuesday morning, Vice President JD Vance said the United States has “largely accomplished its military objectives” in the war and echoed Trump’s assertion that the conflict is nearing its end.

Speaking in Hungary, Vance said the administration expects the war to conclude “very shortly,” though he stressed that “the nature of the conclusion is ultimately up to the Iranians.”

He outlined one possible outcome in which Iran agrees to a deal before Trump’s Tuesday deadline.

“We are going to find out” what follows if no agreement is reached, Vance said.