US President Donald Trump warned this week that the US will be hitting the Pickaxe Mountain area “pretty soon and very heavily.” Earlier, in an interview on the Hugh Hewitt show, Trump said, “We have eyes on it and Pickaxe mountain is a possible target for a nice big fat shot right in the front door…We’re watching Pickaxe Mountain very closely. We don’t see any activity there.”
Where is Pickaxe Mountain located?
is a heavily fortified site which the US and Israel believe is linked to Iran’s nuclear program. It is located near Iran’s heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility.
The where two of Iran’s uranium enrichment plants are located, has been bombed before; during the war started by the US and Israel on 28 February, and during the 12-day war of 2025.
What has Iran built at Pickaxe Mountain?
The think tank said it features two pairs of entrances and that a security wall around the facility was recently completed. These entrances are assumed to lead to one facility, but this is not guaranteed.
Little is known about the complex near the , but it is estimated to be buried almost 100 metres inside a mountain.
“The facility is estimated to be at least 100 meters deep under the mountain. The mountain has a height of 1608 meters above sea level.,” it added.
The difference in elevation between the two sets of entrances of about 50 meters could also indicate that the facility has multiple levels.
Here’s all you need to know about why Pickaxe Mountain is important:
There’s no official confirmation that the Pickaxe Mountain area harbours one of the nuclear facilities or complexes in Iran, or what kind of facility it harbours. But satellite imagery suggests otherwise.
also said that Iran “may have” stored centrifuges used to enrich uranium there, but that the US doesn’t “have it on record.” He was responding to a question about reports claiming that Israel provided the US with intelligence suggesting Iran has moved centrifuges to the site.
is a heavily fortified site that hosts two deeply buried tunnel complexes that experts assess as beyond the reach of the most powerful bunker buster bombs in the US arsenal. The site is linked to Iran’s nuclear program, Reuters reported.
The tunnel facility under construction has not been previously targeted in either June 2025 or 2026 war, aside from the destruction of a vehicle on a nearby spoil pile.
Is ‘facility’ at Pickaxe Mountain operational?
An assessment of satellite imagery (till July 14, 2026)) by the Institute of Science and International Security (), a US-based thinktank focused on nuclear non-proliferation, showed that the facility is not yet operational, but construction continues.
The institute says this nuclear-related site is south of the Natanz enrichment plant, part of a large perimeter secured site that includes another, smaller tunnel complex, initially built in 2007, which was expanded and hardened in recent years and sealed shortly after the June 2025 war.
As per the report, the large mountain with the main tunnel complex is called Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, where Kolang translates to Pickaxe, resulting in today’s nickname of the site.
What is Pickaxe Mountain facility used for?
The ISIS think tank, which has analysed satellite imagery of the site, said construction of the mountain “facility” began in the fall of 2020.
At the time, Iran announced that the underground halls were intended to replace the destroyed above-ground advanced centrifuge assembly facility at the main Natanz site, the report added.
The destroyed site was then designed to assemble about 6000 advanced centrifuges per year, a large capacity, sized to produce tens of thousands of advanced centrifuges during and after the phasing out of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action limits from 2025 through 2030.
Rafael Grossi, the chief of the also said in March that Iran had previously announced its intention to have nuclear activity at Pickaxe Mountain.
“This was part of their quite systematic intention to put their most sensitive facilities underground,” he was quoted by the Guardian as saying.
However, “it remains unclear when Pickaxe Mountain could be operational, based only on assessments of satellite imagery. It is also unclear if Iran still plans on installing a large-scale assembly facility…,” the institute added.
