Why is Trump threatening to strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain again, now?

What the report says

U.S. President Donald Trump has again threatened to strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified underground site near the Natanz nuclear complex in Isfahan province, according to Al Jazeera. The remark came on Friday in comments to reporters in the Oval Office, where Trump said the United States knows who is operating at the site and suggested action could come soon. The same day, Iranian media reported that a tanker near Kharg Island, a major oil-export hub, was hit by U.S. missiles, adding to already heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Al Jazeera reported that Pickaxe Mountain, also known in Iran as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, sits about 220km south of Tehran and is believed to contain deep underground chambers protected by granite. The site has not been publicly confirmed as operational, but analysts say it may be important because other Iranian centrifuge and enrichment facilities were damaged in earlier strikes. The article notes that the mountain complex was not hit in the June 2025 U.S. and Israeli attacks that the Trump administration has described as severely degrading Iran’s nuclear programme.

The renewed threat comes as nuclear talks remain stalled and as the administration sends mixed signals about the conflict, with Trump downplaying the fighting while Vice President JD Vance has suggested the war is no longer active. Al Jazeera also reported that Iran denies work at Natanz and insists its nuclear programme is peaceful. The issue matters because any attack on the site could broaden a conflict that has already affected Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, regional security, and oil shipping routes.