United States President Donald Trump announced that Washington may strike Iran’s heavily fortified Pickaxe Mountain facility very soon
if any concerning activity is detected at the underground site, according to Aljazeera. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump defended the months-long US military campaign against Iran, stating that its primary objective was to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, as reported by NDTV.
Trump Threatens Fresh US Strikes on Iran Pickaxe Mountain Facility
Trump stated that US intelligence is closely monitoring the location. We know everybody that’s moving at Pickaxe; we know everybody that’s moving everywhere all over Iran. And if anything goes bad, we hit them; we hit them hard,
Trump told reporters, according to Oneindia. The latest warning follows a similar threat made by Trump in mid-July on the Hugh Hewitt Show, where he stated that the US would take out Pickaxe Mountain
and give it a shot relatively soon.
Strategic Importance and Profile of Pickaxe Mountain
Known in Farsi as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, Pickaxe Mountain is located roughly 220km (140 miles) south of Tehran in Iran’s Isfahan province, sitting about two kilometres from the damaged Natanz uranium-enrichment plant. The underground complex contains two heavily protected tunnel systems and remains largely inaccessible to outside scrutiny, presenting a different challenge compared to surface-level facilities.
According to News18, Israeli intelligence assessed that Iran may have transferred thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges, components, or other sensitive equipment to Pickaxe Mountain following the 12-day US-Israel bombing campaign in June 2025. When asked about the report, Trump stated that Iran may have
moved centrifuges to the facility, though he added that we don’t have it on record.
Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, noted that the strategic importance of the site lies in its resistance to bunker-buster bombs and its proximity to Natanz. Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes and denied seeking a nuclear weapon.
Broader Military Context and Regional Tensions
The fresh threat against Pickaxe Mountain comes amid ongoing hostilities that began when the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iranian targets on February 28, 2026. The US Central Command reported that American forces recently completed a wave of strikes against facilities associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including air-defence installations, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities, and communications sites. CENTCOM stated these operations followed attempted IRGC attacks against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against US service members.
Trump claimed that American forces destroyed sophisticated radar installations on two occasions, stating that Iran was likely tired of deploying radar systems that get repeatedly blown up. Meanwhile, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the American strikes as a violation of sovereignty, stating that Iranian armed forces responded with defensive strikes against US military bases in West Asia. Diplomatic efforts regarding Iran’s nuclear programme remain stalled following the expiration of a 60-day negotiating window in mid-August without a deal.
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