Key facts
- Pickaxe Mountain is a fortified facility buried deep underground near one of Tehran's main nuclear sites.
- Trump said the US may have to strike Pickaxe Mountain.
- Trump stated he would not use nuclear weapons in the war on Iran.
President Donald Trump said the US may need to strike Pickaxe Mountain, a site linked to Iran's nuclear program, to ensure Tehran does not acquire a nuclear weapon. In an interview with Newsmax on Thursday night, Oct. 10, 2026, Trump also stated he would not use nuclear weapons in the ongoing conflict with Iran, which began in February with US-Israeli strikes. Trump said the US wanted to make sure Iran would never have a nuclear weapon, adding, "because if they had it, they would use it." Pickaxe Mountain is a fortified facility buried deep underground near one of Tehran's main nuclear sites. Trump reiterated he was not considering using US ground troops in Iran and did not say if he had authorized the use of the Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites.