US President Donald Trump has said the United States may launch a strike on Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain facility as Washington seeks to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
Trump made the remarks during an interview with Newsmax on Thursday night, saying the US was determined to ensure Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.
“We want to make sure they will never have a nuclear weapon, because if they had it, they would use it,” Trump said.
Referring to Iran’s underground nuclear infrastructure, the US president said some facilities were buried beneath enormous amounts of rock and soil, making them difficult to reach.
“Their nuclear is buried under millions of tons of mountain. Now we’re looking at Pickaxe Mountain. We may have to go there. We’ll take a shot at that one. We’ll knock it out fast,” he said.
Pickaxe Mountain is a heavily fortified underground facility near one of Iran’s main nuclear sites. Trump’s comments suggest it could become a potential target as the US continues its efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
However, Trump ruled out using nuclear weapons in the conflict, saying conventional military capabilities were sufficient.
“I wouldn’t use nuclear. We don’t have to,” he said.
The president also reiterated that he was not considering deploying US ground troops into Iran.
Trump did not confirm whether he had authorised the use of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), commonly known as the “Mother of All Bombs,” against Iranian energy infrastructure or nuclear facilities. He did, however, clarify that the powerful conventional bomb was not a nuclear weapon.
His comments come amid the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran, which began in February with strikes by the two countries. The conflict has raised concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme and the possibility of further military escalation.
