Iran's Pickaxe Mountain: a buried nuclear site near Natanz under rising U.S. threats

Amid escalating US-Iran tensions, Trump has threatened to strike Pickaxe Mountain, an underground Iranian facility near Natanz that has been under construction since 2020 after the Natanz sabotage. Satellite analysis shows two tunnel entrances and a security wall, and while the ISIS think tank says it is not yet operational, Iran may plan a centrifuge assembly capability there. Experts say the deeply buried site is difficult to hit with bunker-buster weapons, potentially requiring ground action, though the Trump administration has not signaled any imminent move and intelligence reportedly sees little active activity there.