Trump Threatens Attack on Iran's Secretive Pickaxe Mountain Nuclear Site

President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Iran's underground Pickaxe Mountain facility, claiming it may house uranium centrifuges and vowing to strike "pretty soon." The site, known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, is a heavily fortified complex buried 80–100 meters beneath a mountain near Natanz, Iran's main uranium enrichment plant Source: DW News, AP News.

Construction began in 2020 after a sabotage attack damaged Natanz's centrifuge assembly workshop. Iran declared it to the IAEA as a future centrifuge assembly facility, but inspectors have never been granted access Source: CNN. The site remains shrouded in secrecy, with intelligence gleaned largely from satellite imagery Source: AP News.

Israeli Intelligence and US Response

Israeli intelligence assesses that Iran moved thousands of centrifuges and part of its enriched uranium stockpile to Pickaxe Mountain after the US-Israeli bombing campaign in June 2025 Source: Ground News, CNN. Trump acknowledged the possibility but said "we don't have it on record" Source: DW News. Iran denies any secret nuclear activity there, calling US threats a "fabricated pretext for aggression" Source: CNA.

Military Feasibility

Analysts disagree on whether a strike could destroy the facility. The US has GBU-57 "bunker buster" bombs that can penetrate up to 60 meters of earth, but the depth of Pickaxe Mountain may exceed that Source: AP News. Trump insisted Iran "can't do anything" to stop an attack , while Tehran warned that targeting nuclear sites would "expand" the war .