Israel says Iran moved centrifuges into Pickaxe Mountain

Israeli intelligence has assessed that Iran relocated centrifuges and other critical nuclear equipment into subterranean tunnels beneath Pickaxe Mountain, a heavily fortified facility near the Natanz nuclear complex, according to Israeli and U.S. officials. Israel shared the intelligence with the United States as President Donald Trump weighs military strikes against the site.iranintl+1

A Fortress Beyond Reach

Pickaxe Mountain, formally known as Mount Kolang Gaz La, sits roughly 220 kilometers south of Tehran and just two kilometers from Natanz, Iran's largest uranium enrichment complex. Construction began in 2020, after a sabotage operation destroyed an advanced centrifuge production plant at Natanz. Western intelligence agencies have long suspected the site is designed not merely for centrifuge assembly — as Tehran claims — but as a covert enrichment facility that could serve as a strategic hedge for Iran's nuclear program.reuters+3

Buried as deep as 100 meters beneath solid granite, the facility was engineered to survive even America's 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the heaviest conventional bunker-busting bomb in the U.S. arsenal. The Institute for Science and International Security reported that as of early July, satellite imagery showed ongoing vehicle activity, tunnel hardening, and construction — though the think tank assessed the facility was "not yet operational."fdd+3

The Aftermath of the June 2025 War

The intelligence assessment comes in the wake of the 12-day conflict that began on June 13, 2025, when Israel launched airstrikes against Iranian nuclear and military targets. On June 22, the United States joined with Operation Midnight Hammer, deploying 125 aircraft against three primary nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. A ceasefire took effect on June 24.commonslibrary.parliament+1

The strikes destroyed or damaged the majority of Iran's operational centrifuges and inflicted what U.S. officials called "extremely severe damage" across multiple sites. But analysts warned that critical gaps remained — including roughly 400 kilograms of 60-percent-enriched uranium dispersed across tunnel networks, and centrifuges that had been produced but never deployed.bbc+2

Trump Threatens Action

Trump publicly threatened to strike the site during an interview on Hugh Hewitt's radio show on July 12. "We're going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ready," he said. The Wall Street Journal News Corp ↘ 3.58% reported that Trump was weighing military action after receiving days of briefings from senior aides.al-monitor+1

The threat came amid reports that Iran was violating the June 17 memorandum of understanding by continuing construction at the site. Andrea Stricker of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies wrote that Western intelligence assessed Iran "may have already moved centrifuges and other critical equipment inside" the mountain, calling the activity a "brazen bid to salvage and restore its nuclear weapons capability."fdd+1