US President Donald Trump has put Pickaxe Mountain — a suspected Iranian nuclear facility buried deep beneath a mountain — in the spotlight after saying it could be the next target in Washington’s military
campaign.
Speaking to the Salem News Channel, he suggested the site could be hit soon.
“Pickaxe is a possible, you know, target for a nice big, fat shot right in the front door,” he said. “We’ll probably give Pickaxe a shot relatively soon.”
The remarks come as the United States continues military operations against Iran, with the underground complex increasingly emerging as one of Tehran’s most closely watched nuclear facilities.
What Is Pickaxe Mountain?
Known in Persian as Kuh-e Kolang, Pickaxe Mountain is an underground complex located near Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran.
Unlike many of Iran’s older nuclear sites, Pickaxe Mountain was built deep inside a mountain, making it far more difficult to detect and potentially much harder to destroy.
Satellite imagery analysed by the Institute for Science and International Security suggests construction began around 2020. Iran has described the facility as a centrifuge assembly plant, but international inspectors have not been allowed unrestricted access to verify its purpose.
Images released over the past few years show extensive tunnelling and excavation, although the full extent of the underground complex remains unknown.
Western governments believe the site could play a key role in Iran’s nuclear programme, while Tehran maintains its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful.
One reason Pickaxe Mountain has attracted so much attention is its depth.
The facility is believed to sit as much as 600 metres beneath granite rock, making it significantly harder to target than conventional nuclear installations. Military analysts have questioned whether even America’s most powerful bunker-busting bombs would be capable of completely destroying the complex.
That is precisely why Trump’s latest remarks have drawn attention. If Washington decides to strike Pickaxe Mountain, it would be targeting one of Iran’s most heavily protected strategic sites.
