US Israel Iran War Latest News: US President Donald Trump issued a fresh warning to Iran on Friday, saying the United States could strike the country’s heavily fortified underground nuclear site at Pickaxe Mountain very soon. Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office, Trump said US intelligence agencies were closely watching activity at the facility. He indicated that any suspicious movement could lead to an American attack.
“We may hit Pickaxe very soon because if there was anything going on with Pickaxe,” Trump said. Trump also claimed that the US has detailed information about activity at the site and across Iran. “We know everybody that’s moving at Pickaxe; we know everybody that’s moving everywhere all over Iran. And if anything goes bad, we hit them; we hit them hard,” Trump said.
US Israel Iran War Latest News: Trump Says US Goal Is to Stop Iran From Getting Nuclear Weapons
Trump defended the US military campaign in Iran, saying its main purpose is to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. He pointed to the five-month campaign and claimed that the US had already achieved its central objective. “We’re in five months now. And you know what we did in five months? They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon; that’s what we did,” Trump said. Trump also stressed that he believes an Iranian nuclear weapon would pose a serious threat. “Iran will not have a nuclear weapon because if they did, you probably wouldn’t be standing here very long,” he added.
US Israel Iran War Latest News: What Is Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain Nuclear Site?
Pickaxe Mountain is located near Iran’s Natanz uranium-enrichment facility, which has already suffered heavy damage during the conflict. The site is believed to be a highly fortified underground complex with two tunnel systems buried deep beneath the ground. Its underground construction is considered a major factor in its ability to withstand conventional airstrikes.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Israeli intelligence believes Iran has moved thousands of centrifuges to the deeply buried facility. Because of its location and underground structure, Pickaxe Mountain could be considerably harder to attack than above-ground nuclear facilities. Any US decision to strike the site could therefore represent a major escalation against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
US Israel Iran War Latest News: Why a Strike on Pickaxe Mountain Could Escalate the Conflict
A potential US attack on Pickaxe Mountain would carry significant military implications because of the facility’s deeply buried design. The site is believed to have been built to provide greater protection from aerial attacks. This could make any attempt to destroy or disable the facility more complicated than strikes against conventional military targets. Trump’s warning also comes amid continued US and Israeli efforts to prevent Iran from maintaining or rebuilding its nuclear capabilities.
US Israel Iran War Latest News: Trump Says US Action Prevented a Wider Middle East Conflict
Trump also defended the broader US military intervention, arguing that American action prevented the conflict from becoming an even larger regional crisis. He claimed that without US intervention, Israel and other parts of the Middle East could have faced a much more serious threat. Trump further suggested that Iran could eventually have posed a danger to European and American cities if it had obtained a nuclear weapon. “If we didn’t go in there, you wouldn’t have Israel right now, you wouldn’t have the Middle East, and they probably would go at European cities and our cities next,” Trump said. “But we stopped them from having a nuclear weapon in five months,” he added.
US Israel Iran War Latest News: CENTCOM Carries Out Fresh Strikes on Iran
Trump’s remarks came days after US Central Command announced that American forces had conducted another round of strikes against Iranian military targets. According to CENTCOM, the operations targeted facilities connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC. The reported targets included air-defence installations, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities.
US Israel Iran War Latest News: US Says IRGC Targeted Shipping and American Forces
CENTCOM said the strikes followed what it described as recent “attempted attacks” by the IRGC. According to the US military command, those alleged attempts involved commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz as well as US service members. The latest developments highlight the continuing military confrontation between the US and Iran. Trump’s warning over Pickaxe Mountain also raises the possibility of further attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities if Washington believes activity at the site poses a threat. With Pickaxe Mountain believed to contain deeply buried nuclear-related infrastructure, any strike against the facility could become one of the most significant developments in the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict.
