President Says Washington Is Prepared to Target Iran’s Suspected Underground Nuclear Facility, Insisting Tehran Must Never Be Allowed to Acquire a Nuclear Weapon
President Donald Trump said on July 28 that the U.S. military would be prepared to strike Iran’s suspected nuclear facility at Pickaxe Mountain if Tehran fails to reach an agreement with Washington.
Speaking on Fox & Friends, Trump said the United States has been closely monitoring Pickaxe Mountain using what he described as the “greatest cameras in the world,” supported by the advanced capabilities of the U.S. Space Force.
U.S. officials have indicated that Iran may have stored nuclear centrifuges inside the heavily fortified underground facility. Trump also noted that, although military operations against Iran were paused over the weekend, the United States remains prepared to launch additional strikes, including a potential attack on Pickaxe Mountain.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies previously assessed that construction activity at Pickaxe Mountain had accelerated by October 2025. According to the organization, the expansion could indicate that the site has developed additional nuclear capabilities following damage inflicted during the first wave of U.S. military strikes in June 2025, when B-2 stealth bombers targeted Iranian nuclear infrastructure.
Senior Israeli officials told Epoch Magazine Israel that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu planned to present Trump with intelligence regarding Iran’s covert development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs during their meeting on July 28.
Asked about reports that Netanyahu intended to discuss activity at Pickaxe Mountain, Trump dismissed the suggestion that he required additional information.
“Well, I don’t need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi is telling me that because he wants me to stay involved,” Trump told Fox & Friends, adding that the United States already knows what is taking place at the site.
Trump described Iran’s activity at the suspected nuclear facility as “not a big problem” for the United States.
“We took out their nuclear sites, and we’ll have to take out Pickaxe if we don't make a deal,” he said.
In June 2025, the U.S. military carried out Operation Midnight Hammer, targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Although Tehran has consistently denied that its nuclear program is intended for military purposes, Trump has made dismantling Iran’s nuclear ambitions the central issue in negotiations with the regime.
On July 21, the president said the United States would likely strike the suspected nuclear site at Pickaxe Mountain “pretty soon” and “very heavily.”
“If we don’t make a deal, we’ll take it out very easily,” Trump reiterated on Tuesday.
Trump also said there were “competing factions” within the United States, with some advocating for intensified military action against Iran while others favored pursuing a diplomatic agreement. He argued that the extensive damage already inflicted by U.S. strikes would require Iran many years to rebuild.
Speaking on Fox & Friends, Trump said the United States remained in a position of strength and asserted that Iran understood Washington had the capability to target the country’s critical infrastructure, including power plants and bridges. He claimed that most of Iran’s bridges could be destroyed within two hours and that the majority of its power plants could be eliminated in a single day.
Reaffirming his position on July 28, Trump said Iran must never be allowed to obtain or develop a nuclear weapon. He stated that Iran had “agreed to that essentially,” while emphasizing that ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran must formally establish such an agreement.
Trump also responded to Iran’s July 27 statement denying that it had requested the resumption of peace talks after the temporary pause in military strikes. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said reports claiming Iran had sought renewed negotiations were fabricated and maintained that the regime continued to control the Strait of Hormuz despite nearly two weeks of U.S. military operations.
“For some reason, we can be in the midst of a beautiful discussion, and they’ll come out and say, ‘We’re not talking,’ or ‘We didn’t discuss nuclear.’ Well, that’s all we discuss, because they’ll never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said on Tuesday.
