Threats by US President Donald Trump to destroy the nuclear site "Pickaxe Mountain" in Iran, known in Arabic as "Mount Pickaxe", have raised widespread questions about the nature of this site and its importance to Tehran.

Trump said Monday in a television interview: "We will take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be prepared."

The US president added: "We are monitoring the site closely. We don't see any activity there. Every time we hear about it we blow it up, and we will probably strike it relatively soon."

What is "Mount Pickaxe"?

A site inside a mountain about 1.6 kilometers south of the Natanz nuclear facility, known in Persian as "Kuh-e Kolleng Gaz La".

It consists of a highly fortified tunnel complex carved deep into the mountain, making it one of the most difficult Iranian sites to target.

"Mount Pickaxe" caught analysts' attention since 2020, after satellite images showed extensive excavation work and the construction of a massive tunnel network inside it.

Mysterious facility

So far, Iran has not officially declared the nature or purpose of the facility, and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors have not been allowed inside. The agency has not classified the site as a nuclear facility, stating that lack of access prevents it from verifying the activities taking place there.

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Why does it cause concern?

According to US intelligence reports, the facility was built under hundreds of meters of solid granite rock, making it immune to bunker-buster bombs.

According to Al-Monitor, US intelligence believes Iran is seeking to build a secret undeclared uranium enrichment facility to serve as a 'strategic backup option' to preserve its nuclear program if other facilities come under attack.

In contrast, Tehran insists the site is used only for assembling and manufacturing advanced centrifuges, not for uranium enrichment.

What is inside the site?

Estimates by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) indicate that the complex has four main entrances leading to tunnels extending 80 to 100 meters deep under the rock, giving it a level of fortification exceeding many other Iranian nuclear facilities.

ISIS believes the site could in the future become an integrated center for rebuilding Iran's centrifuge program, from manufacturing components to assembling the devices and ultimately carrying out uranium enrichment.

However, the institute stresses that the facility is not yet ready for operation, and there are no indications that it is currently running or that it contains any stockpile of enriched uranium.

But some estimates suggest that 'Mount Pickaxe' could be the site where the enriched uranium, believed to have been moved by Tehran before US strikes during the 12-day war in June of last year, is stored.

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