Skip to main content

Trump targets Iran’s Pickaxe mountain

1 min Mena Today

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said that the U.S. would take out Pickaxe Mountain in Iran, as he warned that Washington would continue to hit the country hard.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Freedom 250 Grand Prix Showcase at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 13, 2026. Reuters/Kylie Cooper

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Freedom 250 Grand Prix Showcase at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 13, 2026. Reuters/Kylie Cooper

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said that the U.S. would take out Pickaxe Mountain in Iran, as he warned that Washington would continue to hit the country hard.

"We're going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ready," Trump said in an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show.

"We're watching (Pickaxe Mountain) closely. We see no activity there. They're not doing well with their nuclear situation. Every time we hear about it, we blow it up. So they don't like talking about it. But we'll probably give Pickaxe a shot relatively soon," Trump said. 

Pickaxe Mountain, located near Iran's heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility, is a heavily fortified site that hosts two deeply buried tunnel complexes that experts assess as beyond the reach of the most powerful bunker buster bombs in the U.S. arsenal.

Trump earlier on Monday said the United States was reinstating its blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf and would ensure the Strait of Hormuz stays open — for a fee — after the two sides exchanged more missile and drone attacks.

"We're going to hit them very hard tonight and we're going to hit them hard tomorrow. And there's not a damn thing they can do about it," he said on the Hugh Hewitt Show.

Reporting by Ismail Shakil, Daphne Psaledakis, Christian Martinez and Jonathan Landay

Related

Strait of Hormuz

Draft Hormuz plan hands Iran key shipping role

A proposed deal between Iran and Oman would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters on Wednesday, in one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.

Iraq

Washington removes Fly Baghdad from sanctions list

The U.S. Treasury said on Wednesday it had removed counter-terrorism sanctions from Iraq's Fly Baghdad Airlines and two aircraft that were imposed in 2024 over links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, citing changes in the airline's behavior.

Qatar

US-Iran talks gain momentum, Qatar says

Qatar said mediators were making progress in efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war on Tuesday, driving oil prices lower, although Tehran has denied President Donald Trump's assertion that talks are already under way.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Mena banner 4

To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.

  • Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.