What is Pickaxe Mountain, Iran’s secretive facility Trump says the US will attack ‘pretty soon’?

President Donald Trump has indicated that the United States is preparing to attack Iran's "Pickaxe Mountain," a secretive underground facility suspected of storing enriched uranium and advanced centrifuges. Trump stated on Tuesday, "We'll be hitting that area very probably pretty soon. And there's not a thing they can do about it."

In response, Iranian state media reported early Wednesday that Tehran would treat any US attack on its nuclear facilities as an expansion of the war in the region. This warning underscores the heightened tensions surrounding Iran's nuclear program.

Pickaxe Mountain, also known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, is located about a mile south of the Natanz uranium-enrichment facility. Described as heavily fortified and buried at least 100 meters underground, it presents a difficult target. Construction on the facility began in 2020, and Iran initially declared it to the International Atomic Energy Agency as a future site for assembling centrifuges. The facility remains largely mysterious, with limited information available publicly beyond analysis of satellite imagery.

Analysis of satellite images suggests the facility includes extensive tunnel complexes and hardened entrances designed to withstand potential airstrikes. Experts believe construction has intensified recently, particularly after Israel and the US targeted other Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025. This increased activity could indicate Iran is building centrifuges, relocating operations from damaged sites, or establishing a secret uranium enrichment facility, according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

Israeli intelligence suggests that Iran moved part of its enriched uranium stockpile and advanced centrifuges to Pickaxe Mountain following the June 2025 attacks, which targeted facilities in Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow. During that conflict, several top Iranian nuclear scientists were reportedly killed. The US joined the military action later in the war, conducting strikes with more powerful munitions.

“

We'll be hitting that area very probably pretty soon. And there's not a thing they can do about it.