President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of striking Pickaxe Mountain, an underground Iranian nuclear site that has drawn fresh attention as tensions between Washington and Tehran intensify. His comments come amid an ongoing U.S. campaign against Iranian targets and renewed concern over the security of one of Iran’s most protected nuclear-related facilities.
Speaking from Washington on Tuesday, Trump said the U.S. military would likely hit the area near the site soon and said Iran would be unable to stop it. He had made similar remarks earlier in the month, saying the site was being watched closely and suggesting it could be targeted relatively soon. Iranian military officials responded by warning that an attack would amount to an explosion of war in the region and by threatening retaliation against U.S. interests and those of its allies.
Where the site is and what is known about it
Pickaxe Mountain, also called Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La in Iran, is located south of the Natanz enrichment plant. Construction began in 2020, when Iran said the underground complex would replace a centrifuge plant that had been destroyed at Natanz. According to the Institute for Science and International Security, the earlier facility would have been capable of assembling 6,000 nuclear centrifuges a year.
The mountain rises to 1,608 meters above sea level, and the facility is believed to sit about 100 meters below the surface, according to the same report. Satellite analysis cited by the Center for Strategic and International Studies indicates that construction has sped up since the U.S. struck three Iranian nuclear sites in June 2025, including Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan. CSIS said Iran has built security walls around the site and added tunnels to the west, east and south. Even so, researchers at ISIS said on July 14 that it remains unclear when the facility could become operational, or whether Iran still plans to install a large-scale assembly plant there.
The renewed focus on Pickaxe Mountain comes as U.S. Central Command has carried out strikes on Iranian targets for 11 straight nights, including military operations centers, drone storage facilities and logistics infrastructure. The broader campaign is aimed at limiting Iran’s ability to interfere with commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Separately, the U.S. and Iran signed an interim memorandum of understanding on June 17 that paused military operations and set a 60-day period for talks on a permanent agreement, including Iran’s nuclear program, though the future management of the strait was left unresolved.
Source: cnbc.com
