Trump warns U.S. will hit Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain ‘pretty soon’

President Donald Trump on Tuesday escalated his threats against Iran's deeply buried Pickaxe Mountain nuclear complex, warning that the site would be struck "pretty soon" and "very heavily," according to Anadolu Agency. The remarks came on the tenth consecutive day of U.S. strikes against Iranian military targets and followed a Wall Street Journal News Corp ↘ 2.07% report, published Monday, that Israeli intelligence believes Iran moved thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges into the mountain's tunnel network last fall.jpost+3

A Nuclear Shell Game

Israel shared its intelligence assessment with Washington, telling U.S. officials that the centrifuges were transferred to Pickaxe Mountain after the 12-day war in June 2025, during which American and Israeli airstrikes heavily damaged Iran's three principal nuclear facilities. An Israeli military official told the Wall Street Journal that the prior campaign did not sufficiently target nuclear weapons-related infrastructure, warning "there is more work to do," including at Pickaxe Mountain.theprint+2

The site, known in Iran as Mount Kolang, lies roughly 220 kilometers south of Tehran and about two kilometers from the Natanz nuclear complex. Experts estimate the tunnel system extends 90 to 137 meters beneath solid rock, potentially large enough to house multiple nuclear-related facilities. David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, told the Journal that "it is likely that Iran has moved centrifuges into the tunnels". Analysts cautioned, however, that the relocation does not necessarily mean Iran has established an operational enrichment facility there; Tehran may have simply moved surviving equipment to protect it from future attacks.ynetnews+2

A Target That Tests American Firepower

Trump first publicly threatened Pickaxe Mountain on July 13 during an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show, saying, "We're going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ready". He added at the time that the U.S. saw "no activity" at the site but would "probably give Pickaxe a shot relatively soon". On Tuesday, Trump said the U.S. has no record of Iran moving centrifuges to the site but warned the area would nonetheless be targeted.al-monitor+2

The fortress-like depth of Pickaxe Mountain presents a formidable challenge even for the most powerful American bunker-busting munitions, and the site was not struck during U.S. and Israeli operations last year. The Institute for Science and International Security assessed that the facility is "not yet operational, but construction continues". Meanwhile, U.S. Central Command confirmed it completed another round of strikes against Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, and missile launch sites late Monday, as the broader conflict over the Strait of Hormuz showed no signs of abating.isis-online+4