What is Pickaxe Mountain, the secret Iranian site that's keeping Trump awake at night?
The underground facility, located near the Natanz nuclear complex, has once again become the focus of tension between Washington and Tehran following President Donald Trump's latest threats to bomb any site linked to Iran's nuclear program.
Imagen de satélite de la montaña Pickaxe y el complejo de túneles
Pickaxe Mountain, also known in Iran as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, has become one of the main sources of concern for U.S. President Donald Trump, who has reiterated in recent days his intention to attack any facility related to Iran's nuclear program.
As explained by TIME, this underground complex is located about 137 miles south of Tehran and just over a mile from the Natanz nuclear complex, one of the country's main uranium enrichment facilities. Although it is not yet operational, experts believe it could play a key role in a potential revival of Iran's nuclear program.
When asked on Tuesday in the Oval Office about the possibility that Iran may have moved nuclear centrifuges to Pickaxe Mountain, Trump replied: "They may have, we don’t have it on record. It doesn’t mean anything unless they have the material [uranium]. We follow the material, that’s where the action is."
The U.S. president went further and issued a new warning against Tehran. "We’ll be hitting that area, probably pretty soon, and there’s not a thing they can do about it," he said. He added: "Any site where they’re even thinking about nuclear, we’ll be hitting it very powerfully."
This isn't the first time Trump has threatened to attack this site. During a podcast interview on July 13, he declared: "We're going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ready."
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An underground complex
According to TIME, construction of Pickaxe Mountain began in 2020, following a fire at the Natanz plant that Iran attributed to an act of sabotage. Iranian authorities claimed at the time that the new underground tunnels would replace the advanced centrifuge assembly plant destroyed in that incident.
The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) maintains that the tunnel complex was not hit during the U.S. and Israeli attacks of 2025 or in the war of 2026, except for the destruction of a nearby vehicle that, according to the think tank, was likely related to air defenses.
Is it operational?
The think tank noted that it's "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."
However, the agency warns that if Iran manages to rebuild its centrifuge manufacturing capacity, Pickaxe Mountain could become a site to support a potential nuclear weapons program.
Netanyahu expected to share intelligence with Trump
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump on Tuesday. It will be the first meeting between the two leaders since they launched the joint military offensive against Iran and is shaping up to be an opportunity to ease the tensions that have arisen in their relationship.
Amid the escalating confrontation between the United States and Iran in recent weeks, Netanyahu plans to present Trump with Israeli intelligence regarding Tehran's nuclear program. The report was published by The Washington Post, citing a source familiar with the visit who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
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