Trump threatens heavy US strike near Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain
Why it matters: The warning points to possible escalation around Natanz as Tehran threatens to hit US and allied interests across the Middle East.
President Donald Trump said the United States would soon strike the area around Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified underground site near the Natanz nuclear complex. Trump told reporters Tuesday that the target area would be hit “very heavily” as Washington tries to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The threat came after questions about whether Iran had moved nuclear centrifuges to the site. CNN Indonesia, citing Al Jazeera and earlier reporting, said Pickaxe Mountain drew attention after reports that Iran shifted thousands of centrifuges there following earlier US and Israeli attacks on major nuclear facilities. Iranian state media said Tehran warned any US attack on its nuclear sites would widen the conflict and make US and allied interests in the region legitimate targets.