US President Donald Trump issued a dramatic warning toward Tehran on Tuesday, pledging to strike a heavily fortified nuclear facility known as Pickaxe Mountain. The president made it clear that Washington is closely monitoring developments at the subterranean location, which international inspectors have never visited.
"We are going to destroy Pickaxe Mountain, tell the Iranians to be ready," Trump stated during his remarks.
Speaking on the operational status of the facility, Trump explained that US intelligence continues to track Iranian activities at the location. He noted that Washington will not allow Iran to quietly develop its nuclear capabilities behind closed doors.
"We do not see activity there, their nuclear situation is not good," Trump added. "Every time we hear about it, we blow it up, so they do not like to talk about it, but we will probably give Pickaxe Mountain a strike fairly soon."
Satellite imagery analysis indicates that construction on the fortified site remains ongoing, though the facility is not yet fully operational. The complex is carved into a mountain rising 1,600 meters above sea level, with tunnels buried at least 100 meters beneath the surface.
This extreme depth presents significant challenges for conventional air strikes using standard bunker buster munitions. Experts suggest that neutralizing the deeply buried facility might require ground forces or targeted sabotage operations instead of purely aerial bombardment.
Construction on the mountain site began in 2020 following a major sabotage incident that severely damaged the main surface facility at Natanz. Pickaxe Mountain is situated just two kilometers from the Natanz complex and roughly 220 kilometers south of Tehran, making it a critical strategic asset.
International atomic inspectors previously highlighted Tehran's systematic effort to move its most sensitive assets deep underground to protect them from external military attacks. Analysts note that if Iran seeks to rebuild its centrifuge assembly capabilities, it could install a smaller assembly plant inside Pickaxe Mountain to serve a nuclear weapons program.
Israeli security estimates suggest that Iran may already be storing advanced centrifuges and highly enriched uranium inside the secret mountain tunnels. This raises serious concerns that Tehran continued its nuclear enrichment throughout the war, operating behind the back of the United States while simultaneous diplomatic talks were underway.
