Key facts
- President Donald Trump announced the U.S. may soon strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain.
- Pickaxe Mountain is a fortified, underground site near Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility.
- The U.S. and Israel suspect the site could be used for nuclear activity, though hard evidence is lacking.
- Trump indicated that Iran may have transferred centrifuges to the location.
- The U.S. military has been conducting strikes against Iran for 11 consecutive nights.
President Donald Trump has stated that the United States may soon launch significant strikes on Pickaxe Mountain, an Iranian site suspected of nuclear activity. The facility, also known as Kūh-e Kolang or "Mount Kolang," is a heavily fortified underground complex located near Iran's damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility.
Trump admitted that there is no hard evidence Iran is using the site for nuclear purposes but indicated that Iran "may have" stored centrifuges there. He vowed that the U.S. would strike any site where Iran is even considering nuclear development, stating, "We'll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily."
The Wall Street Journal reported that Israeli intelligence assessed Iran transferred centrifuges, essential for enriching uranium, to Pickaxe Mountain last fall. The facility has been under construction for years and is located miles from Natanz. Analysts note that the site is buried approximately 100 meters underground and it is unclear when it could become operational.
Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been barred from Iran since U.S. attacks earlier this year, raising questions about Iran's nuclear capabilities. Some analysts suggest that the U.S. and Israel did not target Pickaxe Mountain in previous operations, indicating it may not have been viewed as an imminent threat, although the presence of centrifuges could motivate a U.S. attack.
The U.S. military has been conducting strikes against Iran for 11 consecutive nights, with Iran continuing to target U.S. allies and bases in the Middle East. The U.S. military states these strikes are intended to degrade Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Eighteen U.S. service members have died since the war began in February.
Separately, President Donald Trump told reporters he planned to allocate $400 million to $500 million from his MAGA Inc. super PAC to boost Republican candidates in the November midterm elections.