Trump Warns of Potential Strike on Iran’s Nuclear Site

President Donald Trump stated on Friday that the U.S. might target Iran’s heavily protected Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility “very soon.” He emphasized that Washington is closely monitoring activities at this underground site, aiming to prevent Tehran from reviving its nuclear program.

“We may hit Pickaxe very soon,” Trump remarked to the press at the White House. He reiterated that the U.S. stands ready to take action if it observes renewed nuclear activity there.

According to Trump, American surveillance capabilities extend beyond Pickaxe Mountain, allowing the U.S. to monitor movements throughout Iran and respond swiftly if necessary.

“We know everyone that’s moving at Pickaxe. We know everybody that’s moving everywhere all over Iran,” he stated. “And if anything goes bad, we hit them. We hit them hard.”

This warning underscored what Trump described as the primary goal of U.S. efforts against Iran: ensuring the country never possesses a nuclear weapon.

“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” Trump insisted. “We’ve stopped them from having one.”

Just a day prior, Trump appeared on British television and pointed out that U.S. surveillance, particularly through the Space Force, provides exceptional visibility over Iran’s remaining nuclear infrastructure.

“We have cameras on every major area of the first three. And we also have cameras on Pickaxe Mountain,” he mentioned, referring to the three main Iranian nuclear sites targeted by the U.S. last year.

Trump conveyed confidence in the monitoring, stating, “We know everybody that walks in and walks out,” and he suggested that Washington understands the activities occurring inside the mountain.

Pickaxe Mountain, situated near the troubled Natanz nuclear site, has become a key focus regarding Iran’s potential to restore its nuclear program. The site is fortified with two tunneling complexes built deep beneath the mountain, and experts believe parts of it may be more deeply buried than Fordow, which was previously considered Iran’s most secure nuclear facility.

Israeli intelligence reportedly suspects that Iran moved thousands of advanced centrifuges into Pickaxe Mountain last fall, a development that could enable Tehran to recover enrichment capabilities lost in earlier U.S. and Israeli strikes.

Consequently, Trump has cautioned that Pickaxe will face destruction if Iran tries to develop the site as the core of a renewed nuclear initiative.

In July, Trump commented on the centrifuge transfer, indicating that the U.S. was closely monitoring Iran’s remaining nuclear materials and made it clear that any reconstruction efforts elsewhere would lead to further American attacks.

“We’ll be hitting that area probably pretty soon,” he indicated. “There’s not a thing they can do about it.”

Trump’s threats stretched beyond Pickaxe, as he asserted that the U.S. would target “any site where they’re even thinking about nuclear” and do so “very, very powerfully.”

Earlier, he told a radio host that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors would need access to Pickaxe as part of any future dealings with Tehran. Although he mentioned that U.S. surveillance detected no activity there at the time, he still described the mountain as a potential target for “a nice, big, fat shot right into the front door.”

By the conclusion of the interview, his message was clear: “We’re going to take out Pickaxe Mountain.”

These threats are particularly significant in light of Operation Midnight Hammer, the large-scale U.S. strike that decimated Iran’s three main nuclear facilities during Israel’s 12-day Operation Rising Lion campaign in June 2025.

During the operation, seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers entered Iranian airspace to drop 14 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs on Fordow and Natanz, while a U.S. submarine launched over two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at targets in Isfahan.

Fordow was notably challenging to target, as it was situated about 300 feet below a mountain and shielded by rock and reinforced concrete, requiring extensive planning and the first use of the powerful GBU-57.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine later disclosed that U.S. forces targeted ventilation shafts to the underground complex, using specific weapons to penetrate the concrete before deploying subsequent bunker-busters. In the aftermath, the Pentagon assessed that Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan had been entirely destroyed.

Last month, former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen revealed that Israeli intelligence had conducted multiple assessments of Fordow to gather insights prior to the American strikes. However, he did not clarify whether Israeli operatives physically entered the complex.

Trump has consistently highlighted this combination of intelligence assets, surveillance, and military capability as the rationale behind why Tehran cannot secretly reconstruct what the U.S. and Israel have dismantled.

Washington recently demonstrated its resolve when Iran sought to re-establish military capabilities near the Strait of Hormuz, prompting U.S. forces to target new Iranian radar and missile systems in the area, as well as a development involving additional mines. Trump reiterated his warnings against Iran’s attempts to threaten commercial shipping.

“They brought in radar because we knocked it out once. Now we knocked it out twice,” he commented, noting that the U.S. does not observe activity near the dismantled systems.

The renewed military actions align with U.S. efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for commercial vessels while obstructing Iran’s attempts to rebuild capabilities that could jeopardize the vital waterway — a key aspect of the administration’s pressure campaign.

Vice President JD Vance emphasized the dual objectives at the White House, asserting that preventing a nuclear-armed Iran is paramount, alongside ensuring the flow of commercial shipping through Hormuz.

“Number one, it’s so that Iran never has a nuclear weapon,” Vance stated.

On Friday, Trump characterized the ongoing situation as an intermittent “military conflict,” clarifying that while the U.S. isn’t engaged in constant fighting, it retains the option to strike Iran when needed.

When asked about a timeline for resolving the confrontation, Trump refrained from providing specifics, instead emphasizing what he termed the campaign’s major success.

“I can’t tell you, but we’ve already won the big thing,” Trump affirmed. “There’s not going to be a nuclear weapon.”