President Donald Trump has repeatedly issued threats to bomb an under-construction Iranian nuclear site buried deep under a mountain, known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, or “Pickaxe Mountain.” The site lies on the south side of Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site, which was bombed by the United States during Operation Midnight Hammer in 2025’s 12-day war between Iran and Israel.

Pickaxe Mountain and Iran’s Nuclear Program

The new project at Pickaxe Mountain is being constructed next to Natanz, about 225 kilometers (140 miles) south of Tehran, Iran’s capital. Natanz, a mix of above- and underground facilities, has been a point of international concern since its existence became known two decades ago. Repeated sabotage attacks on Natanz, including one likely carried out by Israel that destroyed a manufacturing site for centrifuges, led Iranian officials to start work on the Pickaxe Mountain site.

Protected by anti-aircraft batteries, fencing and Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, the facility sprawls across 1 square mile in the country’s arid Central Plateau. It has multiple entrances visible from satellite images. Experts say the size of the construction project indicates Iran will likely be able to use the underground facility to enrich uranium as well as to build centrifuges.

Trump’s Threats and Iran’s Response

Trump on Tuesday talking with journalists in the Oval Office acknowledged the possibility Iran may have moved centrifuges to Pickaxe Mountain, potentially at a depth that would challenge even the most-powerful bombs in America’s arsenal. “We’ll be hitting that area … probably pretty soon. And there’s not a thing they can do about it,” Trump said. Iran says that areas around its only nuclear power plant at Bushehr have already come under attack during the war, though no damage was done to its Russian-run reactor.

Original reporting: NBC Connecticut — read the source article.