Trump Threatens Strike on Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain Nuclear Facility; Tehran Warns of War Expansion

President Donald Trump has threatened to strike Iran’s “Pickaxe Mountain” (Gaoshan) underground nuclear facility, stating the US military would be “hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily.” Iran’s highest military command responded with a stern warning that any attack on its nuclear sites would be considered an “expansion of the war” and would trigger widespread retaliation against US, allied, and supporter interests. The exchange marks a potentially significant escalation in the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran, now in its fifth month.

Background: The 2026 Iran War

The threat is not an isolated incident but the latest development in a major ongoing conflict. On February 28, 2026, the US and Israel launched airstrikes that killed several Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, triggering a full-scale war. According to Xinhua News, the conflict has involved multiple belligerents — the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait on one side, and Iran, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Popular Mobilization Forces on the other.

Multiple ceasefires have collapsed, including the Islamabad Memorandum signed on June 17, 2026, which fell apart after renewed attacks on July 8. The war has cost an estimated $37.5 billion to US taxpayers as of July 2026, with total costs reaching $113.3 billion by some estimates. More than 3,500 Iranians, 19 US soldiers, and 40 Israeli soldiers have been killed.

What Is Pickaxe Mountain?

Pickaxe Mountain, known in Iran as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, is a fortified underground nuclear facility located 220 kilometers (140 miles) south of Tehran and just 2 kilometers from the Natanz nuclear facility in Isfahan province. As The Guardian reports, the complex is buried almost 100 meters inside a mountain, making it one of Iran’s most fortified nuclear sites.

Construction began in 2020 after an act of sabotage at the Natanz facility, according to the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a US-based thinktank focused on nuclear non-proliferation. The facility features two pairs of tunnel entrances, with a security wall recently completed. Since the war began, the eastern tunnel portals have been hardened and partially backfilled to obstruct ground vehicle access.

Rafael Grossi, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 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 told The Guardian.

The Threat and the Response

Speaking at the White House on July 21 during a meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Trump told reporters the US “may soon” strike the facility. “I think they may have done so [moved centrifuges to Pickaxe Mountain], but we don’t have solid records. We track the materials, that’s the key,” Trump said, according to Xinhua’s report. “We may soon strike that area, and it will be very heavy.”

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing the same day, hinted that the US military has the capability to strike Pickaxe Mountain but declined to discuss specific operational capabilities, saying such information “belongs to the classified category,” as reported by Xinhua.

Iran’s response came swiftly. The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Iran’s highest military command, issued a statement declaring that if the US attacks Iranian nuclear facilities, Iran will consider it an “expansion of the war in the region.” As reported by PressTV, the statement warned: “Consequently, all interests of the United States, as well as those of its allies and supporters of that rogue and malign state, will become targets of powerful [retaliatory] attacks by the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had earlier dismissed Trump’s threats as “disrespectful,” saying such remarks were “only worthy” of those making them, “not the Iranian nation.”

Military Challenges and Strategic Calculations

Despite Trump’s confident rhetoric, military experts question the effectiveness of aerial strikes against Pickaxe Mountain. The ISIS thinktank assesses the complex as beyond the reach of the most powerful US bunker buster bombs, noting that “ground forces would be more suitable to attack or sabotage” the facility. Sam Lair, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told Reuters that increasing the strength of the tunnel entrances would complicate “targeting with penetrating munitions like bunker busters.”

Ground operations, however, have been a red line for Trump, and there has been no indication he is considering such a move. The Pentagon’s own assessment after the 2025 strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites concluded that damage likely “set back the nuclear program by one to two years” — but that conclusion came with significant uncertainty.

Israeli intelligence reportedly believes Iran moved thousands of centrifuges used to enrich uranium to Pickaxe Mountain in fall 2025, though Trump himself admitted US intelligence sees “no activity there.” The ISIS assessment is that “the facility is not yet operational, but construction continues.”

Broader Implications

The threat to strike a nuclear facility represents a significant escalation in a conflict that has already destabilized the broader Middle East. The current US strikes have been aimed at forcing Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil shipments. Targeting nuclear sites could broaden the conflict’s scope dramatically.

Diplomatic prospects appear dim. Trump stated the US has “no interest in talking” until Iran is ready for “meaningful” talks, while Iran has signaled it views further attacks on its nuclear infrastructure as crossing a red line. The UN Secretary-General has expressed deep concern over the expanding military escalation, calling attacks on civilian infrastructure “unacceptable.”

What to Watch For

The coming days will reveal whether Trump’s threat is rhetorical posturing or a precursor to a major new phase of the conflict. Key questions include whether the US possesses the munitions needed to neutralize the deeply buried facility, how Iran would retaliate if nuclear sites are attacked, and whether diplomatic efforts can be revived before further escalation. With multiple ceasefires already collapsed, the path to de-escalation remains uncertain.