This week there’s been more mainstream reporting and chatter centered on Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain. The nuclear development site has been of special interest and focus to the Trump administration due to how immensely fortified it is, meaning the Iranians can conduct uranium enrichment activities deep under the mountain if they so desire.
The US and IAEA are essentially operating blind on this, and that’s exactly how the Iranians want it of course. A Thursday Bloomberg report begins: “The United Nations atomic watchdog said it’s observed construction activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, a heavily-fortified site suspected of housing nuclear-related activities.”
It should be noted that Tehran has long complained that IAEA officials have leaked sensitive information to Israeli spies and leaders. The Iranians see it as a compromised organization.
Bloomberg continues, also referencing its own prior reporting: “The International Atomic Energy Agency has yet to inspect inside the tunnel complex but remote imagery indicates new movement at the site just south of Tehran’s main uranium-enrichment plant, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg Television.”
President Trump has on at least two occasions drawn attention to the new reporting this week.
“We notice there’s a little activity at Pickaxe. I would advise Iran not ‌to get ‌cute because we ‌will have to hit them very hard,” Trump said in a speech at Wednesday night’s midterm Republican convention.
Before this, Trump has threatened major attack on the mountain, though some pundits and analysts have speculated that it would take nothing less than dropping a tactical nuke in order to destroy or at least severely damage the fortification.
Some crazy hawks appear to lately be calling for just such a nuclear escalation from Washington, amid persisting frustration over fierce Iranian resistance and lack of ‘options’ the Trump administration has left itself with, also with negotiations at this point appearing totally abandoned.
Pentagon build Iran NUCLEAR PICKAXE MOUNTAIN in New Mexico
‘ONILY NUKE can damage facility’ — Iran Observer pic.twitter.com/M0H6oBlepx
— RT (@RT_com) September 10, 2026
Trump’s Wednesday warning to Tehran was coupled with this surprising statement about the war extending to after the November midterm elections: “I think the war will end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer,” the president told reporters.
He has continued to warn – amid growing public pushback over an unpopular extended war – that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. However even the CIA has long assessed that there’s no clear or high-level evidence that Tehran is actually bent on achieving weapons status. But if anything, the war itself may have pushed the country in the direction of getting a nuke.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 09/10/2026 – 14:20
