NEW YORK Sept 22, 2026 – U.S. President Donald Trump has again warned that American forces may “blow up” Pickaxe Mountain, a heavily fortified underground complex in central Iran that Washington and Israel view as a potential remnant of Tehran’s nuclear program.
The latest remarks, circulating in video clips Tuesday, come as Trump addressed the U.N. General Assembly and disclosed that U.S. and Iranian officials held talks the same day. In his speech he framed a stark choice: a deal that would allow Iran to rebuild, or the possibility of “annihilating” the Islamic Republic.
Pickaxe Mountain (Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La) sits about 1.5–2 km south of the Natanz uranium enrichment complex in Isfahan province. Construction of tunnels into the granite mountain began around 2020 after earlier sabotage at Natanz. Satellite imagery from 2026 shows continued activity, including road work and possible internal construction, though the site is not believed to be fully operational.
Experts have repeatedly noted that the facility’s depth—estimated at 80–100 meters or more beneath hard granite—may place its chambers beyond the reliable reach of even the heaviest U.S. conventional bunker-buster bombs. Iran has denied any nuclear-weapons work at the site and called the threats a pretext for further attacks.
Trump has made similar warnings since July, at times saying a strike could come “pretty soon and very heavily” and that U.S. surveillance tracks movement at the location. The site was left untouched during earlier U.S. and Israeli strikes on Natanz, Fordow and other facilities in 2025 and 2026.
The comments arrive amid a months-long military campaign that has included strikes on Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure, a U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping, and fluctuating oil prices that have become a political issue ahead of U.S. midterm elections. Tehran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful.
No immediate Iranian official response to the newest video clips was available Tuesday evening.
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