After a year of sustained conflict and diplomatic efforts, the United States has increasingly focused attention on an underground nuclear site in Iran known as Pickaxe Mountain, or Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La. This facility lies less than three kilometers from Natanz, one of Iran’s primary uranium enrichment sites, which has been targeted repeatedly over the past year in strikes attributed to the U.S. and Israel.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump recently indicated plans to target Pickaxe Mountain as part of ongoing efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear program. Speaking on The Hugh Hewitt Show and later to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump described the facility as “a possible target for a nice big fat shot” and asserted that Iran would be unable to prevent such an operation. These remarks come amid mounting criticism of the prolonged U.S. military involvement in the region, with opposition growing to what some characterize as another “forever war.”
Iranian military officials have responded to these threats by warning that any strike on nuclear or other sensitive sites would constitute a major escalation. A statement from Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, reported by Iranian state media, declared that attacks on such facilities would broaden the conflict regionally, with U.S. interests and those of its allies becoming targets for retaliatory actions.
Pickaxe Mountain is reportedly a heavily fortified underground complex, potentially resistant even to advanced “bunker buster” munitions. It was not targeted during last year’s 12-day confrontation involving the U.S. and Israel, nor in the ongoing hostilities of the past five months. Despite this, Israeli intelligence reportedly assessed in autumn that Iran moved thousands of centrifuges into Pickaxe Mountain, aiming to rebuild enrichment capabilities following previous strikes on Natanz.
Experts remain divided on the exact nature of Iran’s current activities at the site. The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security noted last week that, despite significant damage to Iran’s centrifuge program, the country might still be considering installing a smaller-scale assembly facility at Pickaxe Mountain. This could potentially support a nuclear weapons program if Iran resumes larger-scale centrifuge manufacturing.
Retired U.S. Army General Joseph Votel, former commander of U.S. Central Command, emphasized that Iran’s experience in relocating valuable nuclear equipment has bought it time, suggesting the intelligence indicating centrifuge operations at Pickaxe merits serious scrutiny. “If there have been centrifuges that have been moved there and are undergoing and spinning and developing nuclear bomb-grade materials, we should be very, very concerned about that,” he said.
Political analyst Benjamin Radd of the UCLA Burkle Centre for International Relations observed that Iran’s ongoing clandestine nuclear enrichment poses a continuing threat and that Pickaxe Mountain’s rumored role strengthens Trump’s justification for military action. Radd noted that despite the president’s strong rhetoric, the U.S. has vacillated between trying to contain Iran’s nuclear capabilities through diplomacy and seeking to neutralize them by military means. He suggested that fully eliminating Iran’s program would require far more intrusive and forceful intervention than has been politically feasible, hinting that Trump’s recent comments might signal a potential shift toward considering such an approach.
The renewed focus on Pickaxe Mountain reflects the broader challenges facing the U.S. administration as it balances efforts to limit Iran’s nuclear ambitions, regional security concerns, and the political ramifications of an extended military campaign that remains unresolved more than a year after its inception.