Trump says US will soon strike Iran’s underground Pickaxe Mountain site

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that the United States will hit Iran’s deep‑buried nuclear complex, known as Pickaxe Mountain (also called Mount Kolang), “very soon and very heavily.” He said the site is near the Natanz enrichment facility and that, if the U.S. were to cease attacks, Iran would need 20‑25 years to rebuild.

Israeli and American intelligence assessments, cited by multiple outlets, claim Tehran moved several thousand uranium‑enrichment centrifuges into the fortified tunnels of Pickaxe Mountain after the June 2025 twelve‑day war that damaged Iran’s main nuclear plants. Israel’s officials have shared the information with Washington and urged Trump to authorize further strikes to prevent Tehran from reconstituting its nuclear program.

In the same Oval Office briefing, Trump warned that if the Iran‑backed Houthi rebels in Yemen try to block Red Sea shipping, the United States will “take care of it,” echoing earlier U.S. actions against the group. The remarks come as the United States has stepped up its campaign of air strikes against Iranian targets in the region.