The Trump administration is reportedly considering military action against Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility, a deeply buried site believed to be central to Tehran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. The facility, which Iran has spent approximately six years excavating, is described as a potential nuclear fortress designed to be impervious to conventional airstrikes.
According to analyses, Pickaxe is intended to house many of Iran's core nuclear activities, including centrifuge storage and production, uranium enrichment, and potentially weaponization efforts. Satellite imagery suggests the site is vast enough to accommodate these operations. Recent reports indicate Iran may be relocating enrichment centrifuges to Pickaxe, with observed activity at the site in recent months.
Former President Donald Trump has previously acknowledged Iran's activities at the site, stating it is "protected by granite." Despite its significance, Pickaxe was not targeted in previous U.S. military operations such as "Midnight Hammer" and "Epic Fury."
Iran's strategy of developing underground nuclear facilities has been a long-standing concern. Sites like Fordow and Natanz, built in secret before being discovered, were already in advanced stages of construction. Inspectors have never visited the Pickaxe site, and its deep, reinforced construction presents a significant challenge for potential military intervention.
The urgency to address the Pickaxe site stems from the belief that any delay allows Iran more time to move equipment, enhance its enrichment capacity, and shorten its path to a nuclear weapon. Trump has expressed an intent to "hit that area pretty soon and very heavily," aiming to shatter Iran's belief in the site's invulnerability.
Experts suggest a potential strike could combine tactics used in Operation Midnight Hammer, which demonstrated the effectiveness of Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker busters against deeply buried facilities like Fordow. These weapons utilized smart tactics and precise targeting to create sequential breaches before detonation. The operation also highlighted the efficacy of blocking site access, as seen with cruise missile strikes used to collapse entrances to facilities storing enriched uranium at Isfahan.
A multi-pronged approach targeting Pickaxe could involve a combination of bunker busters, cruise missiles, and other munitions aimed at multiple points of the facility. Key vulnerabilities, such as ventilation shafts and tunnel entrances, along with power supplies, could be targeted. Following any strike, close monitoring and the threat of follow-on attacks would be crucial to prevent Iran from accessing or rebuilding the site. Such an operation would aim not only to inflict damage but also to cripple Iran's ability to utilize the facility afterward.