US President Donald Trump has warned Iran against increasing activity at the suspected nuclear site at Pickaxe Mountain, threatening that Washington would respond with a forceful military strike.
“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 on Wednesday at the midterm Republican convention.
Pickaxe Mountain, located near Iran’s heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility, is considered one of the remaining sites associated with Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Trump has previously threatened to strike the underground tunnel complex, known in Farsi as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, amid concerns that Iran could use the facility to rebuild its nuclear capabilities.
A satellite imagery analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), published Wednesday, found that road activity at Pickaxe Mountain in 2026 had reached its highest level in the site’s history, alongside a significant increase in construction.
According to the think tank, recent activity suggests that work at the site has shifted from active excavation to probable internal construction and continued reinforcement of its exterior.
CSIS said it could neither substantiate nor refute claims that Iran had moved uranium centrifuges into the facility but described the increased activity as “suspicious,” noting that Pickaxe Mountain is located about two kilometres from an older uranium facility at Natanz.
Iran has repeatedly denied seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
The warning comes amid escalating military tensions between Washington and Tehran, including attacks involving tankers around the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
Iran said on Wednesday that it had fired ballistic missiles at a US military base in Jordan and attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that typically carries about 20 per cent of global oil traffic.
Earlier in the week, US Central Command said five Iranian oil tankers had been destroyed after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice within two days.
The attacks, coupled with renewed fighting between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, have heightened concerns over possible disruptions to global energy supplies.
Oil prices have responded to the escalating tensions, with Brent crude futures for November delivery rising 0.9 per cent to $102.10 a barrel on Thursday morning, while US West Texas Intermediate futures gained one per cent to $97.01.
Trump also said he did not expect the US-Iran war to end until after the November midterm elections.
“I think the war will end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
The US president later said some short-term economic pain for American consumers would be acceptable if it prevented Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Despite oil flows holding up better than expected in recent weeks, ING strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey warned that the market could tighten significantly if the escalation leads to further disruptions.
They said Chinese crude-buying behaviour would be crucial in determining whether the recent oil-price rally continues or loses momentum.
Boluwatife Enome
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