Trump warns US will strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain ‘pretty soon’ amid reports centrifuges were moved there
US President Donald Trump has renewed his threat to strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain facility, declaring that the United States will target the underground site "pretty
US President Donald Trump has renewed his threat to strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain facility, declaring that the United States will target the underground site "pretty soon" as Washington continues its military campaign against Tehran. Speaking to reporters during a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the Oval Office on July 21, Trump said the US was preparing a major strike on the mountain complex located near Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility. "We'll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily," Trump said. He added that he was speaking openly about the planned operation only because he believed Iran would be unable to counter it. "Normally, I wouldn't say that. If I thought they could do something about it, I would never say that." Trump focuses on enriched uranium Trump argued that the real concern was not Iran's centrifuges but its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
"It doesn't mean anything unless they have the material. You're talking about the centrifuges. It doesn't mean anything unless they have the material. They don't have it. We follow the material. That's where the action is." Iran is believed to have produced nearly 1,000 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% purity — close to weapons-grade level. Reports indicate the material is stored at or near the Pickaxe Mountain complex, making it a focal point in the stalled US-Iran negotiations over Tehran's nuclear programme. Trump repeats earlier warning Trump's latest comments echo remarks he made during a July 13 interview on The Hugh Hewitt Show, where he first publicly threatened the site. "We're going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ready." He also claimed Washington was closely monitoring activity at the facility. "We're watching Pickaxe Mountain closely. We see no activity there.
They're not doing well with their nuclear situation. Every time we hear about it, we blow it up... But we'll probably give Pickaxe a shot relatively soon." Why Pickaxe Mountain matters Pickaxe Mountain lies about 220 kilometres (140 miles) south of Tehran and roughly 2 kilometres from the Natanz nuclear complex, one of Iran's principal uranium enrichment sites. Construction of the underground facility reportedly began in 2020 after an explosion damaged parts of the Natanz complex. Iranian officials later confirmed they were building a larger and more advanced underground facility inside the mountain to house centrifuge-related operations. Satellite imagery analysed by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a US-based nuclear non-proliferation think tank, indicates the site contains two deeply buried tunnel complexes estimated to be at least 100 metres underground, protected by reinforced entrances and an extensive security perimeter. Also Read | Burnham Approves Use of UK Bases for Some US Strikes on Iran Experts say facility is difficult to destroy Military and nuclear experts believe the underground complex is among Iran's most heavily fortified nuclear facilities and could be beyond the reach of even the United States' most powerful bunker-buster bombs.
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