US President Donald Trump signaled on July 13 and 14, 2026, that Iran’s deeply buried Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site could be targeted next with bunker-buster weapons. The facility, located south of Natanz and excavated up to 100 meters beneath granite rock, remains a focal point amid escalating US strikes on Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure.
Trump’s Threats and the Ongoing Military Campaign
United States military operations in the region entered a new phase as CENTCOM announced precision-guided strikes targeting Iranian coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites, and naval capabilities. The five-hour operations marked consecutive nights of strikes designed to dismantle military infrastructure across the country, according to regional reporting.
Against this backdrop of widening strikes, President Trump named Iran’s highly fortified Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site as a potential target for future action during an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show. Stressing that American capabilities could monitor the complex in real time, Trump issued a direct warning to Tehran regarding any perceived movement at the facility.
President Trump stated that they were going to take out Pickaxe Mountain, according to NDTV.
Trump further asserted that US surveillance technology maintained constant watch over the geography, stating that the systems possessed cameras capable of reading names and badges from space across every section of the mountain complex. While noting that current satellite monitoring showed no active operations at the site, Trump reiterated that the location remained a viable target for a strike right in the front door.
Inside the Fortifications of Pickaxe Mountain
Located south of Tehran and near Iran’s heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment plant, Pickaxe Mountain stands as one of the country’s most heavily guarded and deeply buried installations. The site features two pairs of tunnel entrances carved beneath a ridge that ascends 1,608 meters above sea level.
Intelligence assessments compiled by the Institute for Science and International Security indicate that the eastern tunnel entrance sits approximately 145 meters below the ridge, while the western entrance is about 100 meters below it. This vertical elevation difference of roughly 50 meters suggests the presence of a multi-level underground complex, though analysts note the exact interior layout remains unconfirmed.
Initial excavation at the site began around 2020, following the expansion of a smaller tunnel complex originally constructed in 2007 and sealed after the June 2025 conflict. Intelligence agencies suspect that Tehran intended to utilize the subterranean facility as a strategic hedge for its nuclear ambitions by housing an undeclared uranium enrichment operation. Conversely, Iranian officials maintained from the outset of construction that the tunnels were designated strictly for assembling and manufacturing advanced centrifuges.
Military Constraints and Hardened Engineering
Completely neutralizing the Pickaxe Mountain installation presents severe tactical hurdles for military planners. Because the core of the facility lies roughly 100 meters underground, it is buried deeper than the enrichment complexes at Fordo and Natanz that were targeted by American bunker-buster munitions.
Experts point out that even the US GBU-57 bomb—weighing approximately 13,000 kilograms and engineered to penetrate up to 18 meters of concrete or 61 meters of earth—faces limitations against the mountain’s granite geology.
Despite these structural defenses, military analysts suggest that total eradication is not the sole benchmark for degrading the site’s utility. Operations could instead focus on crippling supporting infrastructure. According to expert evaluations cited by the BBC, targeting ventilation shafts would permit munitions to penetrate deeper into the substructure, while bunker buster weapons could successfully collapse the tunnel portals.
Attacking access roads, communications systems, and tunnel entrances would effectively paralyse the facility’s operations even if its deepest chambers survived the initial blasts.
Diplomatic Posture and Inspection Demands
The rhetoric surrounding Pickaxe Mountain intersects directly with broader negotiations over Iran’s remaining nuclear framework. When questioned regarding whether future diplomatic agreements would require International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to gain access to the deep subterranean tunnels, Trump affirmed that strict verification measures would remain non-negotiable.
At the same time, the administration has maintained a dual-track posture balancing military pressure with diplomatic openings. Following Oval Office discussions, Trump stated that an agreement to end the broader conflict with Tehran remained certainly possible, even as Washington tightened economic restrictions through a reimposed blockade on Iranian ports and continued its wave of airstrikes.
