President Trump renewed his threat to strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain on Wednesday, saying the United States had detected activity at the underground complex and warning Tehran against advancing nuclear capabilities.
Speaking at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, he said U.S. forces had observed movement at Pickaxe Mountain and suggested the site could be targeted. He said the United States could closely monitor activity there through its space-based capabilities and reiterated his longstanding position that Tehran must never acquire nuclear weapons.
Trump recalled the June 2025 strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, describing B-2 bombers flying from Missouri, refueling multiple times and flying 37 hours before striking their targets. He said someone told him there was movement at Pickaxe Mountain and suggested the site may need a strike as well.
Pickaxe Mountain
Pickaxe Mountain is located in central Iran approximately 140 miles south of Tehran. The mountain is surrounded by granite and rises to roughly one mile above sea level. The geological characteristics, deep granite at altitude, are among the factors that have made it a subject of discussion in assessments of what it would take to destroy facilities buried inside.
The June 2025 strikes that Trump referenced targeted Iran’s other principal nuclear sites and were described at the time as having set back the country’s nuclear program. The mountain was not among the June targets, which is why it remains a subject of potential future action in his public statements.
The convention context
Trump’s remarks came at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, a political setting in which his foreign policy posture and the Iran conflict have both been domestic political assets for the party heading into the 2026 midterm elections. The convention context does not change the substantive content of what a sitting president says publicly about potential military action, but it is the venue in which he chose to make the remarks.
The statement that movement has been detected at Pickaxe Mountain, if accurate, would represent new intelligence about nuclear activity at a site spared in June. Whether the movement represents resumed nuclear work, defensive construction, or something else was not specified in Trump’s public remarks.
Tehran’s position
The government in Tehran has maintained throughout the conflict that its nuclear program has civilian purposes and that it is the target of illegal aggression. Tehran has not publicly responded to Wednesday’s Pickaxe Mountain statement as of the reporting available.
The armed standoff has been ongoing since February. Wednesday’s Trump remarks represent the latest in a series of public threats directed at the country’s nuclear infrastructure.
