US President Donald Trump has threatened a military strike on a suspected Iranian nuclear site buried deep under a mountain, known as Pickaxe Mountain, near the Natanz enrichment facility. Trump suggested the site may house uranium centrifuges.
"We'll be hitting that area very probably pretty soon. And there's not a thing they can do about it," Trump told reporters at the White House. Iran has warned it would "expand" the war if the US regime targets its nuclear facilities.
Tehran has released almost no information about the complex, called "Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La" in Farsi. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors have never been allowed inside. Most knowledge comes from satellite imagery and intelligence assessments.
The complex is located in Isfahan province, about 2 km from the Natanz uranium enrichment plant. Commercial satellite images from Maxar Technologies show continuous construction since 2020, with new tunnel entrances, access roads, and security installations.
Construction accelerated after an explosion damaged Natanz's advanced centrifuge assembly workshop in July 2020, which Iran called sabotage. Months later, Tehran announced plans for a new underground facility for assembling advanced centrifuges.
The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security estimates parts of the facility may be buried 80-100 meters (330 feet) beneath the mountain. If accurate, it would be deeper than many known Iranian nuclear sites and much harder to damage with airstrikes.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has repeatedly said inspectors have never been granted access. Without inspections, the agency cannot verify the presence of nuclear material or centrifuges.
In June 2026, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israeli intelligence assessed Iran may have transferred "thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges" components to the complex after the 12-day US-Israeli bombing campaign in June 2025. Trump said Iran "may have" moved centrifuges, but "we don't have it on record."
Some analysts believe the complex could support production or assembly of advanced centrifuges. Iran argues underground facilities are necessary to protect its nuclear infrastructure from sabotage and attack, and insists its program is peaceful.
International inspectors and intelligence reports confirm Iran possesses about 440 kg of uranium enriched to 60% purity, far above civilian needs and approaching the 90% needed for weapons.
Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told DW the strategic importance of Pickaxe Mountain "lies in its resistance to bunker-buster bombs and its proximity to the Natanz nuclear complex." He argued the 2025 bombing made the site more critical.
US bunker-buster bombs can penetrate to certain depths, but whether they can destroy a complex as deep as Pickaxe Mountain is debated. Some analysts suggest a realistic military goal might be to collapse tunnel entrances or disable supporting infrastructure.
Source: www.dw.com