WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 5: US President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could strike Iran’s heavily fortified Pickaxe Mountain underground nuclear facility “very soon” if American intelligence detects activity linked to the development of nuclear weapons.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon remained a key objective of the US military campaign against Tehran.
“If something goes wrong, we will attack, and we will hit hard,” Trump said, while claiming that US intelligence agencies were closely monitoring developments at the site and across Iran.
Trump said the US would not remain a bystander if Iran attempted to develop nuclear weapons secretly. He also defended the ongoing American military operations against Iran, saying the objective was to ensure that Tehran did not acquire a nuclear bomb.
Pickaxe Mountain is located near Iran’s heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility. The underground complex is reportedly protected by deep tunnel systems, making it difficult to target through conventional air strikes.
The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported, citing Israeli intelligence assessments, that Iran had moved thousands of centrifuges to the deeply buried facility.
Any US strike on Pickaxe Mountain could potentially escalate the conflict in the Middle East, given the site’s importance to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and its heavily protected underground construction.
Trump also weighed in on comments by US Vice-President JD Vance, who had questioned whether the ongoing confrontation with Iran should be described as a “war”. Trump said he preferred to call it a military conflict, adding that he did not consider it a major issue for the US.
The remarks came days after the US Central Command announced a fresh round of military operations against Iranian targets. According to the command, the strikes targeted air-defence systems, radar installations, maritime facilities, mine-laying capabilities and communications infrastructure linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The US said the operations were carried out in response to attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial vessels and American military personnel in the Strait of Hormuz.
