Trump Threatens Strike on Iran's Pickaxe Mountain Nuclear Site as 30,000-Pound MOP May Fall Short
Updated
Updated · The War Zone · Jul 14
Trump Threatens Strike on Iran's Pickaxe Mountain Nuclear Site as 30,000-Pound MOP May Fall Short
3 articles · Updated · The War Zone · Jul 14
Summary
Trump said the U.S. could hit Pickaxe Mountain "relatively soon," calling the deeply buried Iranian nuclear site ripe for a strike "right in the front door."
The threat comes as U.S.-Iran fighting has resumed, Tehran again closes the Strait of Hormuz, and Washington moves to reimpose a blockade despite a 14-point ceasefire memorandum signed last month.
Pickaxe Mountain, near Natanz, contains two tunnel networks and has never been opened to IAEA inspectors; analysts say Iran may have shifted sensitive nuclear assets there after earlier strikes on other sites.
Experts have long judged the main caverns too deep for the 30,000-pound GBU-57 bunker buster, making tunnel-entrance attacks, repeated follow-on strikes, or even riskier ground operations more plausible options.
The site was skipped in both Operation Midnight Hammer in 2025 and Operation Epic Fury this year, underscoring uncertainty over what is inside and how much military value a strike would deliver.
Is Iran's 'untargetable' nuclear mountain truly beyond the reach of America's newest weapons?
After a peace deal collapsed in just 26 days, is an all-out war between the U.S. and Iran now unavoidable?
Pickaxe Mountain Crisis: U.S.-Iran Escalation, Nuclear Risks, and the Challenge of Deep Underground Facilities in 2026
Overview
As of mid-July 2026, the crisis between the US and Iran has sharply escalated, with President Trump ordering repeated military strikes and threatening Iran’s fortified Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site. Despite these aggressive actions, Trump has left the door open for diplomacy, though his rhetoric and the ongoing blockade of Iranian ports suggest a hardline stance. US operations aim to weaken Iran’s military and disrupt attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran continues to fortify its underground nuclear facilities. This tense standoff highlights the difficulty of resolving the conflict and the growing risks of further escalation.