Trump Says US Will Target Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, Vows More Strikes

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States would target Iran's Pickaxe Mountain site, warning that Washington would continue striking the country as tensions remained high between the two sides.

The comments came as the United States and Iran continued to exchange missile and drone attacks. According to Reuters, Trump also said Washington was reinstating its blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf and would ensure the Strait of Hormuz remained open "for a fee", underscoring a further escalation in the conflict.

"We're going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ​ready," Trump said in an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show.

"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. So they don't like talking about it. But we'll probably give Pickaxe a shot relatively soon," Trump said.

According to Reuters, Pickaxe Mountain is located near Iran's heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility. The heavily fortified site contains two deeply buried tunnel complexes that experts assess are beyond the reach of the most powerful bunker-buster bombs in the U.S. arsenal.

Earlier on Monday, Trump said the United States was reinstating its blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf after the two sides exchanged more missile and drone attacks. Reuters reported that he also said Washington would ensure the Strait of Hormuz stayed open "for a fee".

"We're ​going to ⁠hit them very hard tonight and we're going to hit them hard tomorrow. And there's not a damn thing ⁠they ​can do about it," he said on the Hugh Hewitt Show.