President Donald Trump has vowed to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, recently threatening to strike the country’s deeply buried Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility — a site previously left untouched during U.S. strikes on Iran’s other nuclear sites. This shift in rhetoric emerged publicly on July 13, 2026, after conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt raised the facility during an interview.

Pickaxe Mountain is estimated to lie beneath at least 100 meters of rock near Iran's damaged Natanz nuclear enrichment complex. It was designed to replace an above-ground plant destroyed in 2020 that could assemble roughly 6,000 advanced centrifuges annually. Iran has described the replacement as larger, more modern, and built "in the heart of the mountain." Analysts believe the tunnels could eventually house a centrifuge assembly line, an enrichment plant, or equipment related to nuclear weaponization.

Before attacks in June 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified that Iran possessed 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, enough for approximately 10 nuclear weapons if further enriched. However, the U.S. administration has not confirmed whether it has independently corroborated Israeli intelligence reports that thousands of centrifuges were moved into Pickaxe last fall or whether nuclear material has entered the facility.

Nicole Grajewski, an assistant professor at Sciences Po and nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Nuclear Policy Program, stated that it would be "very close to impossible" to destroy Pickaxe Mountain through an air campaign similar to previous U.S. operations against other sites like Fordow.

Mark Wallace, CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran, emphasized the threat posed by the hidden facility and the need to neutralize it, noting Iran’s use of nuclear ambitions as leverage against the West. Despite Trump’s threat, military experts remain uncertain about the effectiveness of bunker-buster weapons against such a deeply buried site.

Trump’s warning also followed reports from The Wall Street Journal citing Israeli intelligence about the centrifuge transfer. He threatened "major military punishment" for Iran over future attacks by Houthi forces, linking the nuclear site to broader regional security concerns.

The evolving U.S. stance on Pickaxe Mountain raises new questions about Iran’s nuclear capabilities and the strategic calculus behind targeting such a fortified underground facility.

Sources