Trump targets secret Iranian nuclear site

By Megan Brooks 15/07/2026 2 min read 35 views

US President Donald Trump is discussing a potential strike on Pickaxe Mountain, a nuclear site buried deep underground in Iran. The interim peace deal between the United States and Iran collapsed on July 8, and tensions are escalating across the Middle East. In an interview with Salem News, the US President said that Pickaxe was ripe for a “nice big shot.”

Pickaxe Mountain is the informal English name for Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā. It is located immediately south of Iran’s main nuclear complex in Natanz. The mountain lies approximately 1.5 kilometers south of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, which has previously been subjected to numerous attacks by the United States.

It is about 220 kilometers from the Iran capital of Tehran, and the mountain lies within the Isfahan Province. The location is significant because Natanz has been Iran’s nuclear hub for more than 20 years. The name Pickaxe Mountain is not an official Iranian military designation for the site; it is a name used by US commentators and other Western intelligence and media officials.

Essentially, US intelligence believes that inside the mountain could be Iran’s most secure nuclear installation. Natanz has been subjected to IAEA inspections for years, whilst Iran’s other nuclear facility Fordow has been under scrutiny in the past. However, international inspectors have never been allowed inside Pickaxe Mountain, which only served to further heighten beliefs that the Iranians do have something buried deep within the location.

When did Iran start building at Pickaxe Mountain? In 2020, satellite imagery started showing excavation work beginning inside the mountain. Analysts noticed that two large tunnel entrances had been built, there was extensive rock removal taking place on a consistent basis, and heavy engineering equipment was regularly in use. From 2021 to 2024, works continued at Pickaxe Mountain, and again, satellite imagery showed the ventilation shafts being implemented, reinforced road access and the erection of security checkpoints all around the location.

The US-Israel attacks on Natanz on June 22, 2025, which sparked the 12-day war, claimed to have destroyed Iran’s nuclear capability. However, satellite imagery once again showed that a new perimeter security wall stretching roughly 4,000 feet had been erected around Pickaxe Mountain, which again sparked fears that Iran had moved its nuclear arsenal in the underground facility.

Nobody outside the Iranian government knows with certainty. However, intelligence analysts have suggested several possibilities. Many experts believe Iran intends eventually to install centrifuges there. If true, it would allow uranium enrichment deep underground. Some believe the site could store Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. Deep burial would make any attack much harder. Some analysts believe it may eventually house command-and-control facilities linked to Iran’s nuclear programme. None of these roles has been publicly confirmed.