President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States will soon launch a major strike against an underground Iranian nuclear complex known as Pickaxe Mountain, escalating warnings as the conflict with Iran entered its second week.
“We’ll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The facility, called Kūh-e Kolang or Mount Kolang in Iran, is being constructed inside a mountain near the Natanz nuclear complex. Iranian officials said in 2021 that it would replace a centrifuge assembly plant damaged in an attack at Natanz.
Satellite imagery analyzed by the Institute for Science and International Security indicates that construction has continued at the site, which may extend roughly 100 meters, or 328 feet, underground. Its depth could make it significantly harder to destroy than other Iranian nuclear facilities.
President Trump announces the US military will be bombing Iran's PICKAXE MOUNTAIN "HEAVILY" soon, which is where the nuclear centrifuges were possibly moved.
"Normally I wouldn't say that…we'll be hitting that area pretty soon, VERY HEAVILY." pic.twitter.com/lB6PxwlUX4
— D. Scott @eclipsethis2003 (@eclipsethis2003) July 22, 2026
Trump’s comments followed a report that Iran may have transferred sensitive nuclear equipment to the complex, noted ABC News. The president did not confirm the report but said American intelligence is primarily focused on tracking Iran’s enriched uranium.
“Maybe this one they have right,” Trump said of the newspaper. “But it’s okay. It doesn’t mean anything unless they have the material.”
“We follow the material,” he added.
Trump expanded his warnings Wednesday, threatening direct retaliation against Iranian infrastructure each time Iran attacks a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,” Trump wrote.
The warning followed an 11th consecutive night of American strikes against Iranian military targets and facilities. Diplomatic efforts have shown little public progress as the two governments remain divided over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that carried about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas during peacetime but has remained largely closed amid Iranian attacks.
Iran was believed to possess nearly 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium before the latest hostilities, though the location and condition of the stockpile remain uncertain. International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors have been unable to access Iranian facilities since the conflict began. That calculation could change if intelligence confirms that Iran has installed centrifuges or begun preparing the site for uranium enrichment.
The United States could use Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker-buster bombs against the complex, although its depth may limit their effectiveness. The Institute for Science and International Security has said the facility, in its current condition, may be more vulnerable to sabotage or a ground operation than an aerial attack.
Strikes against tunnel entrances could nevertheless delay construction, trap equipment underground and force Iran to conduct visible recovery work that could be monitored by satellites.
Trump said the United States would attack any location involved in rebuilding Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
🇺🇸🇮🇷 POTUS Donald Trump on Iran :
"How about these people? They're in this because of nuclear weapons, and they're trying to possibly reconstitute a site? We'll hit that site. Any site where they're even thinking about nuclear — we'll be hitting it very, very powerfully." pic.twitter.com/7hyG3IKj3F
— The Observer Lens (@TheObserverLens) July 22, 2026
“They’re trying to possibly reconstitute a site,” Trump said. “We’ll hit that site. Any site where they’re even thinking about nuclear, we’ll be hitting it very, very powerfully.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, appearing before Congress on Tuesday, expressed confidence that the military could reach even Iran’s most fortified installations.
“If anybody in the world can reach anything on … God’s green earth, it’s the United States military, the most powerful military in the world,” Hegseth said.
Trump also said Iran appeared increasingly interested in negotiating a ceasefire, even as both sides continued exchanging strikes.
[Read More: Trump Issues Stark Warning]
