ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to strike Iran’s heavily fortified Pickaxe Mountain “very soon,” warning Tehran against activity at the underground complex near the Natanz nuclear facility as tensions between the two countries rise again.
"We may hit Pickaxe Mountain [in Iran] very soon because if there is anything going on with Pickaxe," Trump told reporters at the White House.
"We know everybody that's moving at Pickaxe Mountain. We know everybody that's moving everywhere, all over Iran.
"And if anything goes bad, we hit them. We hit them hard."
Pickaxe Mountain is a heavily fortified underground complex near the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran. The site contains two deeply buried tunnel complexes and has not been targeted in previous US and Israeli strikes. Its exact purpose remains unclear, and inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have never been granted access to it.
Construction at the site began after a 2020 attack damaged a centrifuge assembly facility at Natanz. Experts analyzing satellite imagery have estimated that parts of the complex could be buried between 80 and 100 meters underground, making it considerably more difficult to target than other Iranian nuclear facilities.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack Pickaxe Mountain in recent months amid concerns in Washington that Tehran could use the facility to rebuild parts of its nuclear program damaged in previous strikes.
The United States and Israel launched large-scale strikes against Iran on February 28, targeting the country’s nuclear, ballistic missile and military infrastructure. Tehran retaliated against Israel and US forces and allies across the region, while disruption to shipping through Hormuz triggered a major global energy shock.
Fighting subsequently eased during periods of negotiations and temporary understandings but has repeatedly flared up.
The latest escalation began this week, with US Central Command saying it carried out a wave of strikes on Tuesday against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), targeting air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities following attempted attacks on commercial shipping and US personnel.
Despite threatening further strikes, Trump on Friday played down the scale of the conflict.
"A lot of people don't call it a war. I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us. It's not a big thing.”
