{"id":1313,"date":"2026-07-15T22:09:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T22:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1313"},"modified":"2026-07-15T22:09:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T22:09:44","slug":"what-is-irans-pickaxe-mountain-and-why-is-trump-talking-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1313","title":{"rendered":"What Is Iran\u2019s Pickaxe Mountain \u2014 And Why Is Trump Talking About It?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
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Buried deep beneath a mountain in central Iran is a nuclear-related facility so heavily fortified that some experts believe it may be beyond the reach of U.S. airstrikes \u2014 and President Donald Trump wants Tehran to know he\u2019s watching it.<\/p>\n

Read more What Is Pickaxe Mountain \u2014 And Why Is Trump Talking About It?<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have eyes on it and Pickaxe Mountain is a possible target for a nice big fat shot right in the front door,\u201d Trump said Monday in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell the Iranians to be ready,\u201d Trump added. \u201cThere is not a damn thing they can do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mountain complex has become one of the biggest mysteries surrounding Iran\u2019s nuclear program since U.S. forces struck Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan during Operation Midnight Hammer last year.<\/p>\n

While those facilities suffered extensive damage, Pickaxe Mountain was left untouched.<\/p>\n

Analysts believe the site was spared because it was not yet operational and its extraordinary depth would have made it one of the most difficult targets in Iran for conventional airstrikes.<\/p>\n

Yet recent satellite imagery suggests construction has continued, raising concerns that Tehran may be turning the mountain complex into a hardened fallback location for its nuclear program that has been under heavy assault for more than a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is like their Alamo,\u201d Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told The Daily Wire.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou retreat to this place and the goal would be to hunker down,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cThe Iranians now find themselves where they understand that there\u2019s not a lot they can do in the places that have been destroyed. They have this fallback embedded deep underground. They understand that it will be exceedingly difficult for the United States to neutralize this facility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Located in Iran\u2019s Isfahan province, roughly one mile south of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility and about 200 miles south of Tehran, the site is formally known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La \u2014 or \u201cPickaxe Mountain.\u201d<\/p>\n

After construction began in 2020, Iranian officials claimed the facility was intended to replace a centrifuge manufacturing plant at Natanz that was destroyed in a suspected Israeli sabotage operation.<\/p>\n

But the site\u2019s secrecy, scale, and extraordinary fortification have raised concerns among Western governments and nuclear experts, particularly because the International Atomic Energy Agency has never inspected the facility. The lack of international oversight has fueled speculation that Iran could eventually use the complex to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels or store sensitive nuclear material away from outside scrutiny.<\/p>\n

According to reporting by The New York Times, some experts fear Iran may already have moved portions of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium \u2014 roughly 970 pounds before the 2025 strikes \u2014 into the facility.<\/p>\n

According to the Institute for Science and International Security, the facility\u2019s chambers are buried substantially deeper than those at Fordow, the mountain-enclosed enrichment facility struck by American B-2 bombers in June 2025. The organization estimates that the tunnel complex lies at least 100 meters beneath the mountain and may contain multiple underground levels accessed through two pairs of tunnel entrances.<\/p>\n

Satellite imagery reviewed by the institute shows Iran has spent years fortifying the site.<\/p>\n

In 2025, Tehran began constructing a double security perimeter around the mountain, consisting of fencing, walls, and patrol routes. Tunnel entrances have been hardened with layers of concrete and earth, according to the institute.<\/p>\n

Read more House Dem Calls On Party To Embrace The Word \u2018Socialist\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Some experts believe Trump was referring to Pickaxe Mountain when he warned during an April 1, 2026, primetime address that Iran was attempting to rebuild its nuclear program at a \u201ctotally different location\u201d following Operation Midnight Hammer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn June, I ordered a strike on Iran\u2019s key nuclear facilities in Operation Midnight Hammer,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThe regime then sought to rebuild their nuclear program at a totally different location, making clear they had no intention of abandoning their pursuit of nuclear weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s long been understood to be an area that would be well out of reach if it becomes fully operational,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cOut of reach of the U.S. military \u2014 or any other military for that matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

The facility\u2019s unusual fortification has also sparked debate among military planners about whether conventional airstrikes could ever fully eliminate it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe U.S. and Israel reportedly didn\u2019t bomb Pickaxe Mountain before because of its depth and due to an assessment that it wasn\u2019t really operational,\u201d Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, told The Daily Wire. \u201cBut Pickaxe Mountain can be used as a site where the Iranians breakout should they decide to develop a nuclear weapon. This necessitates that Pickaxe Mountain be neutralized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brodsky added that because of the facility\u2019s depth, \u201cit may require a ground component to destroy the complex.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some officials and analysts have privately discussed options ranging from special operations raids to other unconventional methods because traditional bunker-buster bombs may not be sufficient, according to the New York Times. Other analysts have proposed rendering the facility unusable by sealing tunnel entrances or using chemical agents to contaminate access routes rather than attempting to destroy the mountain itself.<\/p>\n

Schanzer said the facility presents the Trump administration with difficult choices.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are still options for neutralizing this facility,\u201d he said. \u201cGround forces. Tactical nukes. But these are things that the administration, at least until now, has been very nervous about initiating.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that such options would carry enormous military and geopolitical risks, including concerns about setting precedents that adversaries such as Russia could later invoke in other conflicts such as the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

The renewed focus on Pickaxe Mountain comes after FDD argued that ongoing construction at the site may have breached the now-defunct Memorandum of Understanding, under which Iran agreed to maintain the status quo of its nuclear program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe regime appears intent to continue its nuclear activity,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cDespite all of the measures that the U.S. military has taken against the regime, they\u2019re defiant.\u201d<\/p>\n

While little activity has reportedly been observed at Fordow, Natanz, or Isfahan since the American strikes, satellite imagery reviewed by the Institute for Science and International Security showed vehicle activity near the tunnel entrances in late June, suggesting the facility remains under construction and that fortification efforts are continuing.<\/p>\n

For U.S. and Israeli officials seeking to ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, the fact that Pickaxe Mountain remains unfinished offers only limited reassurance. Once operational, the deeply buried complex could become the regime\u2019s most secure nuclear asset \u2014 and perhaps its hardest to eliminate.<\/p>\n

Read more Why This Blue City Is Spying On Your Trash<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buried deep beneath a mountain in central Iran is a nuclear-related facility so heavily fortified that some experts believe it may be beyond the reach of U.S. airstrikes \u2014 and President Donald Trump wants Tehran to know he\u2019s watching it.\u201cWe have eyes on it and Pickaxe Mountain is a possible target for a nice big fat shot right in the front door,\u201d Trump said Monday in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt.\u201cTell the Iranians to be ready,\u201d Trump added. \u201cThere is not a damn thing they can do about it.\u201dThe mountain complex has become one of the biggest mysteries surrounding Iran\u2019s nuclear program since U.S. forces struck Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan during Operation Midnight Hammer last year.While those facilities suffered extensive damage, Pickaxe Mountain was left untouched.Analysts believe the site was spared because it was not yet operational and its extraordinary depth would have made it one of the most difficult targets in Iran for conventional airstrikes.Yet recent satellite imagery suggests construction has continued, raising concerns that Tehran may be turning the mountain complex into a hardened fallback location for its nuclear program that has been under heavy assault for more than a year.\u201cI think this is like their Alamo,\u201d Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told The Daily Wire.\u201cYou retreat to this place and the goal would be to hunker down,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cThe Iranians now find themselves where they understand that there\u2019s not a lot they can do in the places that have been destroyed. They have this fallback embedded deep underground. They understand that it will be exceedingly difficult for the United States to neutralize this facility.\u201dLocated in Iran\u2019s Isfahan province, roughly one mile south of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility and about 200 miles south of Tehran, the site is formally known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La \u2014 or \u201cPickaxe Mountain.\u201dAfter construction began in 2020, Iranian officials claimed the facility was intended to replace a centrifuge manufacturing plant at Natanz that was destroyed in a suspected Israeli sabotage operation.But the site\u2019s secrecy, scale, and extraordinary fortification have raised concerns among Western governments and nuclear experts, particularly because the International Atomic Energy Agency has never inspected the facility. The lack of international oversight has fueled speculation that Iran could eventually use the complex to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels or store sensitive nuclear material away from outside scrutiny.According to reporting by The New York Times, some experts fear Iran may already have moved portions of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium \u2014 roughly 970 pounds before the 2025 strikes \u2014 into the facility.According to the Institute for Science and International Security, the facility\u2019s chambers are buried substantially deeper than those at Fordow, the mountain-enclosed enrichment facility struck by American B-2 bombers in June 2025. The organization estimates that the tunnel complex lies at least 100 meters beneath the mountain and may contain multiple underground levels accessed through two pairs of tunnel entrances.Satellite imagery reviewed by the institute shows Iran has spent years fortifying the site.In 2025, Tehran began constructing a double security perimeter around the mountain, consisting of fencing, walls, and patrol routes. Tunnel entrances have been hardened with layers of concrete and earth, according to the institute.Some experts believe Trump was referring to Pickaxe Mountain when he warned during an April 1, 2026, primetime address that Iran was attempting to rebuild its nuclear program at a \u201ctotally different location\u201d following Operation Midnight Hammer.\u201cIn June, I ordered a strike on Iran\u2019s key nuclear facilities in Operation Midnight Hammer,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThe regime then sought to rebuild their nuclear program at a totally different location, making clear they had no intention of abandoning their pursuit of nuclear weapons.\u201d\u201cIt\u2019s long been understood to be an area that would be well out of reach if it becomes fully operational,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cOut of reach of the U.S. military \u2014 or any other military for that matter.\u201dThe facility\u2019s unusual fortification has also sparked debate among military planners about whether conventional airstrikes could ever fully eliminate it.\u201cThe U.S. and Israel reportedly didn\u2019t bomb Pickaxe Mountain before because of its depth and due to an assessment that it wasn\u2019t really operational,\u201d Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, told The Daily Wire. \u201cBut Pickaxe Mountain can be used as a site where the Iranians breakout should they decide to develop a nuclear weapon. This necessitates that Pickaxe Mountain be neutralized.\u201dBrodsky added that because of the facility\u2019s depth, \u201cit may require a ground component to destroy the complex.\u201dSome officials and analysts have privately discussed options ranging from special operations raids to other unconventional methods because traditional bunker-buster bombs may not be sufficient, according to the New York Times. Other analysts have proposed rendering the facility unusable by sealing tunnel entrances or using chemical agents to contaminate access routes rather than attempting to destroy the mountain itself.Schanzer said the facility presents the Trump administration with difficult choices.\u201cThere are still options for neutralizing this facility,\u201d he said. \u201cGround forces. Tactical nukes. But these are things that the administration, at least until now, has been very nervous about initiating.\u201dHe added that such options would carry enormous military and geopolitical risks, including concerns about setting precedents that adversaries such as Russia could later invoke in other conflicts such as the war in Ukraine.The renewed focus on Pickaxe Mountain comes after FDD argued that ongoing construction at the site may have breached the now-defunct Memorandum of Understanding, under which Iran agreed to maintain the status quo of its nuclear program.\u201cThe regime appears intent to continue its nuclear activity,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cDespite all of the measures that the U.S. military has taken against the regime, they\u2019re defiant.\u201dWhile little activity has reportedly been observed at Fordow, Natanz, or Isfahan since the American strikes, satellite imagery reviewed by the Institute for Science and International Security showed vehicle activity near the tunnel entrances in late June, suggesting the facility remains under construction and that fortification efforts are continuing.For U.S. and Israeli officials seeking to ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, the fact that Pickaxe Mountain remains unfinished offers only limited reassurance. Once operational, the deeply buried complex could become the regime\u2019s most secure nuclear asset \u2014 and perhaps its hardest to eliminate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-2"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is Iran\u2019s Pickaxe Mountain \u2014 And Why Is Trump Talking About It? - Blue Route Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1313\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is Iran\u2019s Pickaxe Mountain \u2014 And Why Is Trump Talking About It? - Blue Route Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Buried deep beneath a mountain in central Iran is a nuclear-related facility so heavily fortified that some experts believe it may be beyond the reach of U.S. airstrikes \u2014 and President Donald Trump wants Tehran to know he\u2019s watching it.\u201cWe have eyes on it and Pickaxe Mountain is a possible target for a nice big fat shot right in the front door,\u201d Trump said Monday in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt.\u201cTell the Iranians to be ready,\u201d Trump added. \u201cThere is not a damn thing they can do about it.\u201dThe mountain complex has become one of the biggest mysteries surrounding Iran\u2019s nuclear program since U.S. forces struck Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan during Operation Midnight Hammer last year.While those facilities suffered extensive damage, Pickaxe Mountain was left untouched.Analysts believe the site was spared because it was not yet operational and its extraordinary depth would have made it one of the most difficult targets in Iran for conventional airstrikes.Yet recent satellite imagery suggests construction has continued, raising concerns that Tehran may be turning the mountain complex into a hardened fallback location for its nuclear program that has been under heavy assault for more than a year.\u201cI think this is like their Alamo,\u201d Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told The Daily Wire.\u201cYou retreat to this place and the goal would be to hunker down,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cThe Iranians now find themselves where they understand that there\u2019s not a lot they can do in the places that have been destroyed. They have this fallback embedded deep underground. They understand that it will be exceedingly difficult for the United States to neutralize this facility.\u201dLocated in Iran\u2019s Isfahan province, roughly one mile south of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility and about 200 miles south of Tehran, the site is formally known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La \u2014 or \u201cPickaxe Mountain.\u201dAfter construction began in 2020, Iranian officials claimed the facility was intended to replace a centrifuge manufacturing plant at Natanz that was destroyed in a suspected Israeli sabotage operation.But the site\u2019s secrecy, scale, and extraordinary fortification have raised concerns among Western governments and nuclear experts, particularly because the International Atomic Energy Agency has never inspected the facility. The lack of international oversight has fueled speculation that Iran could eventually use the complex to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels or store sensitive nuclear material away from outside scrutiny.According to reporting by The New York Times, some experts fear Iran may already have moved portions of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium \u2014 roughly 970 pounds before the 2025 strikes \u2014 into the facility.According to the Institute for Science and International Security, the facility\u2019s chambers are buried substantially deeper than those at Fordow, the mountain-enclosed enrichment facility struck by American B-2 bombers in June 2025. The organization estimates that the tunnel complex lies at least 100 meters beneath the mountain and may contain multiple underground levels accessed through two pairs of tunnel entrances.Satellite imagery reviewed by the institute shows Iran has spent years fortifying the site.In 2025, Tehran began constructing a double security perimeter around the mountain, consisting of fencing, walls, and patrol routes. Tunnel entrances have been hardened with layers of concrete and earth, according to the institute.Some experts believe Trump was referring to Pickaxe Mountain when he warned during an April 1, 2026, primetime address that Iran was attempting to rebuild its nuclear program at a \u201ctotally different location\u201d following Operation Midnight Hammer.\u201cIn June, I ordered a strike on Iran\u2019s key nuclear facilities in Operation Midnight Hammer,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThe regime then sought to rebuild their nuclear program at a totally different location, making clear they had no intention of abandoning their pursuit of nuclear weapons.\u201d\u201cIt\u2019s long been understood to be an area that would be well out of reach if it becomes fully operational,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cOut of reach of the U.S. military \u2014 or any other military for that matter.\u201dThe facility\u2019s unusual fortification has also sparked debate among military planners about whether conventional airstrikes could ever fully eliminate it.\u201cThe U.S. and Israel reportedly didn\u2019t bomb Pickaxe Mountain before because of its depth and due to an assessment that it wasn\u2019t really operational,\u201d Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, told The Daily Wire. \u201cBut Pickaxe Mountain can be used as a site where the Iranians breakout should they decide to develop a nuclear weapon. This necessitates that Pickaxe Mountain be neutralized.\u201dBrodsky added that because of the facility\u2019s depth, \u201cit may require a ground component to destroy the complex.\u201dSome officials and analysts have privately discussed options ranging from special operations raids to other unconventional methods because traditional bunker-buster bombs may not be sufficient, according to the New York Times. Other analysts have proposed rendering the facility unusable by sealing tunnel entrances or using chemical agents to contaminate access routes rather than attempting to destroy the mountain itself.Schanzer said the facility presents the Trump administration with difficult choices.\u201cThere are still options for neutralizing this facility,\u201d he said. \u201cGround forces. Tactical nukes. But these are things that the administration, at least until now, has been very nervous about initiating.\u201dHe added that such options would carry enormous military and geopolitical risks, including concerns about setting precedents that adversaries such as Russia could later invoke in other conflicts such as the war in Ukraine.The renewed focus on Pickaxe Mountain comes after FDD argued that ongoing construction at the site may have breached the now-defunct Memorandum of Understanding, under which Iran agreed to maintain the status quo of its nuclear program.\u201cThe regime appears intent to continue its nuclear activity,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cDespite all of the measures that the U.S. military has taken against the regime, they\u2019re defiant.\u201dWhile little activity has reportedly been observed at Fordow, Natanz, or Isfahan since the American strikes, satellite imagery reviewed by the Institute for Science and International Security showed vehicle activity near the tunnel entrances in late June, suggesting the facility remains under construction and that fortification efforts are continuing.For U.S. and Israeli officials seeking to ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, the fact that Pickaxe Mountain remains unfinished offers only limited reassurance. Once operational, the deeply buried complex could become the regime\u2019s most secure nuclear asset \u2014 and perhaps its hardest to eliminate.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1313\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blue Route Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-15T22:09:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1313#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1313\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c\"},\"headline\":\"What Is Iran\u2019s Pickaxe Mountain \u2014 And Why Is Trump Talking About It?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-15T22:09:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1313\"},\"wordCount\":1122,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1313#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/5b7bfb5e345bed6e7f8dc35fbab6981c.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1313#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1313\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1313\",\"name\":\"What Is Iran\u2019s Pickaxe Mountain \u2014 And Why Is Trump Talking About It? 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- Blue Route Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1313","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Is Iran\u2019s Pickaxe Mountain \u2014 And Why Is Trump Talking About It? - Blue Route Journal","og_description":"Buried deep beneath a mountain in central Iran is a nuclear-related facility so heavily fortified that some experts believe it may be beyond the reach of U.S. airstrikes \u2014 and President Donald Trump wants Tehran to know he\u2019s watching it.\u201cWe have eyes on it and Pickaxe Mountain is a possible target for a nice big fat shot right in the front door,\u201d Trump said Monday in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt.\u201cTell the Iranians to be ready,\u201d Trump added. \u201cThere is not a damn thing they can do about it.\u201dThe mountain complex has become one of the biggest mysteries surrounding Iran\u2019s nuclear program since U.S. forces struck Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan during Operation Midnight Hammer last year.While those facilities suffered extensive damage, Pickaxe Mountain was left untouched.Analysts believe the site was spared because it was not yet operational and its extraordinary depth would have made it one of the most difficult targets in Iran for conventional airstrikes.Yet recent satellite imagery suggests construction has continued, raising concerns that Tehran may be turning the mountain complex into a hardened fallback location for its nuclear program that has been under heavy assault for more than a year.\u201cI think this is like their Alamo,\u201d Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told The Daily Wire.\u201cYou retreat to this place and the goal would be to hunker down,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cThe Iranians now find themselves where they understand that there\u2019s not a lot they can do in the places that have been destroyed. They have this fallback embedded deep underground. They understand that it will be exceedingly difficult for the United States to neutralize this facility.\u201dLocated in Iran\u2019s Isfahan province, roughly one mile south of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility and about 200 miles south of Tehran, the site is formally known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La \u2014 or \u201cPickaxe Mountain.\u201dAfter construction began in 2020, Iranian officials claimed the facility was intended to replace a centrifuge manufacturing plant at Natanz that was destroyed in a suspected Israeli sabotage operation.But the site\u2019s secrecy, scale, and extraordinary fortification have raised concerns among Western governments and nuclear experts, particularly because the International Atomic Energy Agency has never inspected the facility. The lack of international oversight has fueled speculation that Iran could eventually use the complex to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels or store sensitive nuclear material away from outside scrutiny.According to reporting by The New York Times, some experts fear Iran may already have moved portions of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium \u2014 roughly 970 pounds before the 2025 strikes \u2014 into the facility.According to the Institute for Science and International Security, the facility\u2019s chambers are buried substantially deeper than those at Fordow, the mountain-enclosed enrichment facility struck by American B-2 bombers in June 2025. The organization estimates that the tunnel complex lies at least 100 meters beneath the mountain and may contain multiple underground levels accessed through two pairs of tunnel entrances.Satellite imagery reviewed by the institute shows Iran has spent years fortifying the site.In 2025, Tehran began constructing a double security perimeter around the mountain, consisting of fencing, walls, and patrol routes. Tunnel entrances have been hardened with layers of concrete and earth, according to the institute.Some experts believe Trump was referring to Pickaxe Mountain when he warned during an April 1, 2026, primetime address that Iran was attempting to rebuild its nuclear program at a \u201ctotally different location\u201d following Operation Midnight Hammer.\u201cIn June, I ordered a strike on Iran\u2019s key nuclear facilities in Operation Midnight Hammer,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThe regime then sought to rebuild their nuclear program at a totally different location, making clear they had no intention of abandoning their pursuit of nuclear weapons.\u201d\u201cIt\u2019s long been understood to be an area that would be well out of reach if it becomes fully operational,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cOut of reach of the U.S. military \u2014 or any other military for that matter.\u201dThe facility\u2019s unusual fortification has also sparked debate among military planners about whether conventional airstrikes could ever fully eliminate it.\u201cThe U.S. and Israel reportedly didn\u2019t bomb Pickaxe Mountain before because of its depth and due to an assessment that it wasn\u2019t really operational,\u201d Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, told The Daily Wire. \u201cBut Pickaxe Mountain can be used as a site where the Iranians breakout should they decide to develop a nuclear weapon. This necessitates that Pickaxe Mountain be neutralized.\u201dBrodsky added that because of the facility\u2019s depth, \u201cit may require a ground component to destroy the complex.\u201dSome officials and analysts have privately discussed options ranging from special operations raids to other unconventional methods because traditional bunker-buster bombs may not be sufficient, according to the New York Times. Other analysts have proposed rendering the facility unusable by sealing tunnel entrances or using chemical agents to contaminate access routes rather than attempting to destroy the mountain itself.Schanzer said the facility presents the Trump administration with difficult choices.\u201cThere are still options for neutralizing this facility,\u201d he said. \u201cGround forces. Tactical nukes. But these are things that the administration, at least until now, has been very nervous about initiating.\u201dHe added that such options would carry enormous military and geopolitical risks, including concerns about setting precedents that adversaries such as Russia could later invoke in other conflicts such as the war in Ukraine.The renewed focus on Pickaxe Mountain comes after FDD argued that ongoing construction at the site may have breached the now-defunct Memorandum of Understanding, under which Iran agreed to maintain the status quo of its nuclear program.\u201cThe regime appears intent to continue its nuclear activity,\u201d Schanzer said. \u201cDespite all of the measures that the U.S. military has taken against the regime, they\u2019re defiant.\u201dWhile little activity has reportedly been observed at Fordow, Natanz, or Isfahan since the American strikes, satellite imagery reviewed by the Institute for Science and International Security showed vehicle activity near the tunnel entrances in late June, suggesting the facility remains under construction and that fortification efforts are continuing.For U.S. and Israeli officials seeking to ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, the fact that Pickaxe Mountain remains unfinished offers only limited reassurance. Once operational, the deeply buried complex could become the regime\u2019s most secure nuclear asset \u2014 and perhaps its hardest to eliminate.","og_url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1313","og_site_name":"Blue Route Journal","article_published_time":"2026-07-15T22:09:44+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1313#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1313"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c"},"headline":"What Is Iran\u2019s Pickaxe Mountain \u2014 And Why Is Trump Talking About It?","datePublished":"2026-07-15T22:09:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1313"},"wordCount":1122,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1313#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5b7bfb5e345bed6e7f8dc35fbab6981c.avif","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1313#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1313","url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1313","name":"What Is Iran\u2019s Pickaxe Mountain \u2014 And Why Is Trump Talking About It? 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