Trump Threatens Strike On Iran's Underground Pickaxe Mountain Nuclear Site

Donald Trump on Friday threatened a fresh US strike on Iran, saying Washington may "hit" Pickaxe Mountain "very soon" if it detects activity at the underground nuclear site. Speaking at the Oval Office, Trump said US intelligence was closely tracking movement at the facility, which lies near Iran's Natanz uranium-enrichment site. The Times of India reported the remarks.

Pickaxe Mountain is a heavily fortified underground complex near the heavily damaged Natanz facility. A strike there would carry weight because the site is believed to be harder to destroy with conventional aerial attacks. It could also deepen the US campaign against Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

Trump framed the warning as conditional. "We may hit Pickaxe very soon because if there was anything going on with Pickaxe," Trump said at the Oval Office. He warned that the site could be targeted if US agencies detect activity there.

Monitoring And Warnings

Trump paired the threat with a surveillance claim. He said US agencies were watching movements at the site and elsewhere in Iran.

"We know everybody that's moving at Pickaxe; we know everybody that's moving everywhere all over Iran. And if anything goes bad, we hit them; we hit them hard," Trump said.

He also repeated that the US could act quickly. Trump said America could "hit" the site "very soon" and warned that Pickaxe Mountain could be targeted if Washington detects activity.

Nuclear Campaign Defense

Trump defended the US military campaign in Iran. He said its main aim was to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"We're in five months now. And you know what we did in five months? They're not going to have a nuclear weapon; that's what we did," Trump said.

He then sharpened that argument with another warning. "Iran will not have a nuclear weapon because if they did, you probably wouldn't be standing here very long," Trump said. He presented the campaign as a direct effort to block Iran's nuclear progress.

Site And Intelligence

Pickaxe Mountain sits near Iran's heavily damaged Natanz uranium-enrichment facility. The site is described as a heavily fortified underground complex with two deeply buried tunnel systems.

That construction matters. The underground layout is believed to make the facility significantly more resistant to conventional aerial strikes than surface targets.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Israeli intelligence believes Iran has moved thousands of centrifuges to the deeply buried site, and The Times of India carried that reporting. If the US decides to target Pickaxe Mountain, the move could mark a major escalation in the campaign against Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

Regional Conflict Claims

Trump widened his case beyond the nuclear issue. He argued that US military intervention had prevented a broader regional war.

"If we didn't go in there, you wouldn't have Israel right now, you wouldn't have the Middle East, and they probably would go at European cities and our cities next," Trump said.

He tied that claim back to the nuclear campaign. "But we stopped them from having a nuclear weapon in five months," Trump said. He cast US action as having blocked both a nuclear threat and a wider conflict.

CENTCOM Strikes Follow

Trump's remarks came days after US Central Command announced a fresh wave of strikes on Iranian military targets. CENTCOM stated that American forces had completed operations against facilities tied to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The targeted sites included air-defence installations, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications sites, CENTCOM stated.

CENTCOM stated that the strikes followed what it described as recent "attempted attacks" by the IRGC on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and on US service members.