PHOTO: REUTERS
Trump says activity seen at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, urges Tehran ‘not to get cute’
· The Straits Times- President Trump warned Iran not to be "cute" amid observed activity at Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified underground nuclear site near Natanz, threatening strong US strikes.
- Pickaxe Mountain is close to Natanz, which suffered US-Israeli attacks; Trump has cited weakening Iran’s nuclear capabilities as one of his war objective.
- The ongoing Middle East conflict has raised oil prices and affected US midterm elections, with Trump hoping the war ends post-elections amid Tehran's alleged interference attempts.
DALLAS/WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said on Sept 9 the United States may hit Pickaxe Mountain, an underground site near the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran, urging Tehran to be cautious.
“We notice there’s a little activity at Pickaxe. I would advise Iran not to get cute because we will have to hit them very hard,” Trump said in a speech at the midterm Republican convention.
Pickaxe Mountain, located near Iran’s heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility, is a fortified site with two deeply buried tunnel complexes.
Trump has been threatening strikes on Pickaxe Mountain, which lies 220km south of Tehran and 2km from the Natanz complex, since at least mid-July.
The Natanz site, where two of Iran’s uranium enrichment plants were located, was struck in March as part of US-Israeli military attacks on Iran. Israel also hit Natanz during a 12-day Israel-Iran war in 2025.
The tunnel facility under construction at Pickaxe Mountain was not targeted in either of those wars, according to the Institute for Science and International Security, a US-based think-tank focused on nuclear non-proliferation.
Trump has cited weakening Iran’s nuclear capabilities as one of his war objectives. Iran does not have nuclear weapons and says its uranium enrichment programme is for peaceful purposes.
The US is a nuclear power, while Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed country in the Middle East but has not confirmed or denied it publicly.
Trump said on Sept 9 that he thought the war was going to end immediately after the midterms, alleging Tehran was trying to influence the elections that will determine whether the Republicans retain control of the US Congress.
The rise in oil and gas prices owing to the Middle East war, which was sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb 28, has become a major issue for Trump and his Republican Party in the lead-up to the midterm US elections in November.
The strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. REUTERS