US President Donald Trump delivers a keynote speech at the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas, Wednesday (local time).
US President Donald Trump delivers a keynote speech at the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas, Wednesday (local time).

US President Donald Trump warned Wednesday (local time) that the United States could strike Pickaxe Mountain, the site where Iran is believed to have moved underground nuclear facilities. Trump has repeatedly named the mountain directly and hinted at a possible attack on it since July.

Speaking on the opening day of the Republican National Convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, Trump warned, "We're seeing a little bit of movement at Pickaxe Mountain. I would advise Iran not to play games. If they do, we're going to have to hit them very hard."

That day, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a leading US think tank, said it analyzed satellite images from multiple sources. The images captured Pickaxe Mountain and the Natanz nuclear facility from 2020 to the present. The analysis found more frequent road-related activity at Pickaxe Mountain this year than in previous years. According to CSIS, construction activity consistent with raising and reinforcing the height of entrances leading to underground facilities, paving internal road networks, and reinforcing areas around entrances has clearly jumped. Activity consistent with leveling and removing excavated soil also increased.

Pickaxe Mountain is a large underground tunnel complex located about 2 kilometers south of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran. Iran is believed to have relocated nuclear facilities underground at the site after Israel struck Natanz in 2020. The International Atomic Energy Agency has demanded information about and access to Pickaxe Mountain, but Iran has not complied.

Trump has made several remarks this year about striking Pickaxe Mountain. On July 21, he said the site would "be hit very hard, and soon." On Friday, he said, "If something's going on there, we're going to hit it, and soon."

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kate01@heraldcorp.com