Trump Issues Stark Warning Over Pickaxe Mountain
President Donald Trump has escalated rhetoric against Iran's nuclear program, specifically targeting a highly fortified underground facility known as "Pickaxe Mountain" (Kūh-e Kolang). Speaking from the Oval Office on September 4, Trump indicated that the United States could strike the site "very soon" if suspicious activities resume, asserting close monitoring by US Space Force and satellite intelligence.
"We're leading in space. 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 stated, rekindling intense focus on one of Iran’s most protected infrastructure projects.
What is Pickaxe Mountain?
Situated approximately 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) south of the main Natanz uranium enrichment complex in Iran's Isfahan province, Pickaxe Mountain is a hard-rock peak concealing a subterranean facility. Excavation into the solid granite began in late 2020, following sabotage explosions at the above-ground Natanz centrifuge assembly plant.
Iranian officials designed the Pickaxe Mountain site specifically to withstand sabotage and heavy bombardments. While Tehran insists the subterranean complex is intended solely for legitimate technical work, Western and Israeli intelligence agencies suspect the deep tunnels could be utilized to house enriched uranium stockpiles or conduct covert enrichment beyond the view of international inspectors.
Designed for Resilience
The facility's design presents unique challenges:
- Extreme Depth: Dug more than 300 feet under solid granite, it is significantly deeper underground than Iran's Fordow enrichment site.
- Bunker-Buster Limits: Defense analysts continue to debate whether conventional bunker-busting munitions—such as the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP)—can completely collapse tunnels excavated at such depth.
- Potential Vulnerabilities: Experts note that even if deep underground halls resist a direct blast, air strikes could collapse access portals, destroy surface ventilation, or cut electrical infrastructure, effectively disabling the complex.
Past Strikes and Current Threats
Pickaxe Mountain was not targeted during earlier air strikes on Iranian nuclear installations in mid-2025 and early 2026. At that time, intelligence suggested the underground network was still under construction and not yet fully operational.
Trump’s latest statements follow months of rhetorical warnings aimed at Tehran's nuclear program. Intelligence assessments provided by allied regional partners suggest Iran may have recently shifted sensitive centrifuge equipment or stockpiles into the fortified mountain tunnels to safeguard them against ongoing military pressure.
In response, Iranian defense officials have warned that any direct attack on the Pickaxe complex would trigger heavy retaliatory measures, describing the site as one of the most heavily fortified positions in the country's defense network.