In the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump was asked if he believes Iran has moved nuclear centrifuges into Pickaxe Mountain, an underground facility near one of the country's primary enrichment facilities.
“We’ll be hitting that area, probably pretty soon, and there’s not a thing they can do about it,” he added, having earlier vowed that “any site where they’re even thinking about nuclear, we’ll be hitting it very powerfully."
The resumption of the Iran war on July 7, just weeks after the signing of the interim cease-fire agreement, has largely focused on the continued struggle over the Strait of Hormuz.
“We're going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ready,” Trump said in a July 13 interview, once again bringing focus to the nuclear-linked site.
The underground site is situated around 220 km (140 miles) south of Tehran and 2 km (1.2 miles) from the Natanz nuclear complex.
Natanz was among the facilities hit, as it was believed to house highly-enriched uranium. The entrances to the nuclear site were targeted again in the early days of the Iran war which started on Feb. 28.
According to the U.S.-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), the tunnel facility under construction at Pickaxe Mountain has not been previously targeted in either June 2025 or the 2026 war, “aside from the destruction of a vehicle on a nearby spoil pile, which we believe was most likely associated with air defense.”
Iran at the time said the underground halls were intended to replace the destroyed above-ground advanced centrifuge assembly facility at the Natanz site, according to ISIS.
Is Pickaxe Mountain a functioning site?
Trump said earlier this month that the U.S. is watching Pickaxe Mountain “closely" and doesn't see any activity there.
According to ISIS, it “remains unclear when Pickaxe Mountain could be operational… It is also unclear if Iran still plans on installing a large-scale assembly facility, given the destruction of Iran’s centrifuge program, including Iran’s ability to make centrifuge components needed for an assembly plant.”
“Washington’s obsessive focus on Kolang Kouh, where no nuclear activity is taking place, is nothing more than a fabricated pretext for aggression, destruction, and sabotage,” he said on July 22.
Acton tells TIME it remains a "legitimate concern” that Pickaxe Mountain could potentially be used for “more than just secure storage.”
Rafael Grossi, chief of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog IAEA, told PBS in March that Iran had previously “announced its intention to have nuclear activity” at Pickaxe Mountain, referring to it as “part of their quite systematic intention to put their most sensitive facilities underground.”
Additionally, the nuclear watchdog has been unable to independently verify Iran’s centrifuge capacity and production since 2021, so Tehran may have reserves despite strikes over the last two years.
Trump's nuclear row with Iran
Shortly before the U.S. military conducted its 13th consecutive evening of strikes against Iran on Thursday, Trump again accused Tehran of having “evil intentions” and insisted “we cannot let them, ever, even think about having a nuclear weapon.”
Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is “peaceful,” but concerns remain among Western leaders.
The interim agreement laid out the terms of an extended 60-day cease-fire to allow time for technical talks to take place. That deadline is set to expire in mid-August, but the resumption of the war on July 7 has brought the entire agreement into question.
It also said both countries had “acknowledged the critical importance of the nuclear issues… and expressed their intention to immediately address these issues in the negotiations in order to achieve mutual agreement on them.”
With the return to active hostilities, it remains to be seen how much progress will be made regarding the nuclear issue during technical talks.
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