President Donald Trump has vowed to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, focusing attention on the deeply buried Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility. This site, located beneath at least 100 meters of rock near Iran's damaged Natanz nuclear enrichment complex, was previously left untouched by U.S. strikes that targeted other Iranian nuclear sites.

Pickaxe Mountain was designed to replace an above-ground plant destroyed in 2020, which had the capacity to assemble roughly 6,000 advanced centrifuges annually. Iran has described the replacement facility as larger, more modern, and built "in the heart of the mountain." Analysts believe the tunnels could eventually house centrifuge assembly lines, enrichment plants, 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%, sufficient for approximately 10 nuclear weapons if further enriched. However, the U.S. administration has not confirmed whether it independently corroborated Israeli intelligence assessments that thousands of centrifuges were moved into Pickaxe last fall or whether nuclear material has entered the facility.

The facility entered Trump's public rhetoric on July 13, 2026, after conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt raised it during an interview. Trump has threatened "major military punishment" for Iran, signaling a potential strike on Pickaxe Mountain.

Military experts express skepticism about the feasibility of destroying the site through airstrikes. Nicole Grajewski, an assistant professor at Sciences Po and nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Nuclear Policy Program, stated it would be "very close to impossible" to destroy Pickaxe Mountain via an air campaign similar to previous U.S. actions against the Fordow facility.

Mark Wallace, CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran, emphasized the threat posed by the hidden facility and the need to neutralize it, highlighting Iran's use of nuclear ambitions as leverage against the West.

The evolving U.S. stance raises questions about what has changed regarding the threat level or intelligence on Pickaxe Mountain, as the site was previously left untouched during U.S. military operations.

Sources