US President Donald Trump says Washington may strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain “very soon”, renewing a threat against a fortified underground site beside the damaged Natanz enrichment complex. The remarks came on Friday as the United States and Iran continued exchanging attacks, despite mixed signals from the Trump administration about whether the conflict had cooled.
Hours later, an Iranian oil tanker off Kharg Island was struck by four US missiles, according to Iranian news outlet Khabar Fouri. Kharg Island handles about 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports.
Why the mountain has become a target
US intelligence reports indicate that Pickaxe Mountain was built deep inside the rock to protect it from powerful bunker-penetrating bombs. Western analysts have speculated that it could house an undeclared uranium-enrichment facility, while Iran says it is developing nuclear power only.
The site has largely escaped damage. It was not hit during the US strikes on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan in June 2025, and the Institute for Science and International Security has recorded only the destruction of a vehicle on a nearby spoil pile during the current conflict. Analysts therefore see its tunnels as a possible location for rebuilding centrifuge production, assembly or enrichment capacity damaged elsewhere. For additional context, see “Trump downplays seven-month Iran conflict despite 18 US deaths”.
Key points
- Pickaxe Mountain is in Isfahan province, about 220km south of Tehran and 2km from Natanz.
- The facility is believed to be excavated at least 100 metres underground beneath solid granite.
- The Institute for Science and International Security says the site remains under construction and is not yet operational.
- Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful and denies plans to build a nuclear weapon.
What is known about Iran’s damaged nuclear programme
The European Council on Foreign Relations estimates that the 2025 strikes probably destroyed many of the roughly 18,000 centrifuges operating at Natanz and Fordow, as well as several production sites and Ardakan, Iran’s only yellowcake milling plant. Nearly 4,000 additional centrifuges were installed but idle and may have survived.
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed damage to entrance buildings at Natanz’s underground enrichment plant in March 2026, but detected no further impact on the plant itself. The Institute for Science and International Security said in June that the main tunnel entrances remained sealed and found no evidence of ongoing enrichment. No inspector has entered the bombed sites, leaving the programme’s current condition uncertain.
Why the latest threat is disputed
Trump said after the June 2025 attacks that Iran’s nuclear sites had been “completely and totally obliterated”. A leaked preliminary US Defence Intelligence Agency assessment later said the sites had been significantly damaged rather than destroyed and estimated that the programme had been set back by less than six months. A related part of this story is covered in “JD Vance declines to predict when Iran conflict will end”.
Iran is believed to hold about 440kg of uranium enriched to 60 percent, while 90 percent enrichment is needed to produce a nuclear weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency says it cannot currently report on the stockpile’s size, location or composition after Iran suspended cooperation with the agency following the strikes. Nuclear talks have remained stalled since a 60-day negotiating window expired in mid-August without a deal.
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters has warned that bombing the mountain would amount to a renewal of war across the region. Trump made a similar threat in July, saying the site would probably be attacked “relatively soon”; on Friday, he said the US knew who was moving at Pickaxe and across Iran. The development of this issue can be followed in “US-Iran strikes intensify as Tehran reports 18 dead”.
What happens next
Nuclear-related talks remain in limbo after the negotiating window expired without an agreement, while Iran’s suspension of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency has limited visibility into its stockpile and facilities.
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