Trump says US ready to strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain site

President Donald Trump warned on July 21, 2026, that the United States is prepared to strike a heavily fortified Iranian nuclear site known as Pickaxe Mountain "pretty soon, and very heavily." The threat, issued during a White House meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, escalates tensions in a region already experiencing sustained conflict and follows reports that Iran has moved critical nuclear equipment into the deeply buried facility.

The president's comments came amid an 11th consecutive night of U.S. airstrikes on Iranian military targets, which American officials said were aimed at degrading Tehran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. On the same day, Iranian strikes reportedly targeted U.S.-allied countries including Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

Trump specifically addressed intelligence, reportedly shared by Israel with U.S. officials, indicating Iran moved thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges into tunnels inside Pickaxe Mountain last fall. The transfer is believed to have occurred after a 12-day war in June 2025, during which U.S. and Israeli strikes damaged Iran's principal nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan....