US president renews threat against deeply buried nuclear-linked site as tensions with Tehran remain high.
US President Donald Trump has once again threatened military action against a heavily fortified Iranian site known as Pickaxe Mountain, saying Washington may strike the facility “very soon.”
Speaking to reporters, Trump said the United States is closely monitoring the underground complex near Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility and could launch an attack if it detects any renewed activity.
“We may hit Pickaxe Mountain very soon… if there is anything going on with Pickaxe,” Trump said. He added that US forces are watching “everything that moves” across Iran and would respond forcefully to any developments viewed as a threat.
Trump Renews Iran Strike Threat:
Pickaxe Mountain, known in Persian as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, is a mountain complex in central Iran located about one mile south of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility. Western analysts and satellite imagery assessments describe it as a deeply buried underground facility with tunnel complexes that Iran has been constructing for several years.
Experts estimate the site is buried more than 100 metres beneath hard rock, making it one of the most challenging potential targets in Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. The facility was not struck during previous rounds of US and Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites in 2025 and earlier in 2026.
Iran has previously described related construction as connected to centrifuge assembly. Western intelligence assessments, including reports citing Israeli sources, have suggested Iran may have moved centrifuges or other nuclear-related equipment to the site, though Trump has said the United States does not have definitive confirmation of such activity.
Trump Renews Threat to Strike Iran’s Nuclear Site:
Trump’s latest comments mark a continuation of threats he first made publicly in July, when he said the US would hit the area “pretty soon and very heavily” and claimed “there’s not a thing they can do about it.”
The renewed warning comes amid an ongoing military confrontation between the United States and Iran that has involved repeated strikes, threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and broader regional instability. Trump has framed the campaign as necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, while rejecting the characterisation of the conflict as a full-scale war.
Iranian officials have previously warned that any attack on the country’s nuclear facilities would be met with a strong response and could further inflame the region.
Analysts note that a strike on Pickaxe Mountain would represent a significant escalation. The depth and fortification of the site raise questions about the effectiveness of even the most powerful conventional bunker-busting munitions in the US arsenal. Any attack could also carry risks of wider regional retaliation, disruption to global energy markets, and increased civilian harm.
As of now, no strike on the facility has been confirmed. Trump’s comments, however, underline the fragile and volatile state of US-Iran relations, with the potential for further military action remaining firmly on the table.