Beneath the Mountain: Iran’s Secret Nuclear Stronghold That Defies U.S. Bombs

 

Deep under the arid terrain of central Iran, inside a mountain known as Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā — or “Pickaxe mountain” — lies what may be the Islamic Republic’s most heavily fortified and secretive nuclear installation yet. While recent U.S. airstrikes led by President Donald Trump reportedly “obliterated” key enrichment sites at Fordow and Natanz, experts believe Iran has already moved the heart of its nuclear ambitions far out of reach.

 

 

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has raised alarm bells over this ultra-secure complex, located just 90 miles south of the bombed-out Fordow facility and close to Natanz. But when Rafael Grossi, the agency’s director general, asked Tehran for clarity on the nature of the construction underway at Pickaxe mountain, he was bluntly rebuffed. “It’s none of your business,” Iranian officials told him.

 

The curt response has taken on fresh significance following U.S. B-2 stealth bomber raids deploying 30,000-pound bunker-busting munitions, designed to shatter Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. But reports suggest the regime had already anticipated the attack. Just prior to the strikes, convoys of trucks were spotted at Fordow, sparking speculation that Iran had shifted much of its highly enriched uranium to undisclosed locations.

 

According to Sima Shine, a long-serving figure within Israel’s military and intelligence apparatus, Iran likely transferred hundreds if not thousands of advanced centrifuges — vital for producing weapons-grade uranium — to hidden sites. “Pickaxe mountain may be the perfect hiding place,” she said.

 

Satellite imagery and analysis from the Institute for Science and International Security show the Pickaxe site has undergone massive and deliberate expansion over the past four years. Its layout includes at least four known tunnel entrances — double that of Fordow — and burrows possibly more than 100 meters deep into the rock, compared to Fordow’s 60 to 90 meters. This depth could render even America’s most powerful conventional bombs ineffective.

 

“The Kolang Gaz Lā or ‘Pickaxe’ mountain underground complex is intended to give the clerical regime a nuclear weapons site that even the U.S. Air Force would have difficulty destroying with its largest conventional bombs,” said Reuel Marc Gerecht, resident scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “Adding tunnels and a security perimeter would further complicate any commando raid trying to sabotage the complex.”

 

Grossi has warned that Iran’s refusal to grant access fuels suspicions. “Since it is obvious it is in a place where numerous and important activities related to the programme are taking place, we’re asking them, ‘What is this for?’ And they are telling us, ‘It’s none of your business,’” he said in April. By Monday, Grossi was urging Iran to allow inspectors into its nuclear facilities to “account for” the whereabouts of its enriched uranium.

 

International concern is escalating. On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the risk of Iran secretly enriching uranium has “indeed increased with what has happened recently.” Speaking to reporters, Macron insisted, “We must absolutely prevent Iran going down this path.”

Ben Taleblu, another analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, echoed these fears. “A key question is whether Iran will, or maybe already has, secreted fissile material into Pickaxe or some other unknown facility,” he told the Financial Times.

 

If the site is indeed operational or nearing completion, it could offer Iran a viable “Plan B” — an impenetrable alternative to Fordow and Natanz. Experts believe this site could not only house thousands of centrifuges but also enable enrichment activities beyond the reach of international monitoring or conventional military strikes. For a regime determined to maintain nuclear leverage in the face of military and diplomatic pressure, Pickaxe mountain may well be its ultimate insurance policy.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from CNN  2025-06-26

 

 

2 hours ago, Social Media said:

According to Sima Shine, a long-serving figure within Israel’s military and intelligence apparatus, Iran likely transferred hundreds if not thousands of advanced centrifuges — vital for producing weapons-grade uranium — to hidden sites. “Pickaxe mountain may be the perfect hiding place,” she said.

This isn’t going to sit well with some.

 

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

This isn’t going to sit well with some.

 

It shouldn't sit well with anyone unless they wanted Iran to carry on developing in secret. Let us know when its confirmed rather than an opinion.

It's amusing that:

 

The left was howling that Iran had no nuclear weapon program. 

 

Then Trump bombs Iran's nuclear weapon program. 

 

And now the left is howling that Trump's bombing failed to destroy Iran's nuclear weapon program. 

2 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

It's amusing that:

 

The left was howling that Iran had no nuclear weapon program. 

 

Then Trump bombs Iran's nuclear weapon program. 

 

And now the left is howling that Trump's bombing failed to destroy Iran's nuclear weapon program. 

Or at least that’s the way you tell it.

30 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Or at least that’s the way you tell it.

I tell it like I see it.

 

Why don't you tell it like you see it? 

Maybe they are trying to show how futile it was.

Just now, AustinRacing said:

This was a theatrical show. All parties pre-warned. You cannot destroy a program if it is in their minds. They know how to do it. Bombing empty buildings achieved very little as they expected. What this means is Iran will shut the door to external inspections, do what they like. If they decide to develop a bomb they’ll do it like North Korea in secret followed by inviting international media to observe the test with a dozen already made bombs in storage. 

Iran has never really allowed inspections. 

 

Were the Nazis destroyed in Germany? Was that not an idea in their heads? 

 

Are there still Nazis? Sure. Do they have any power? No. 

7 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

It shouldn't sit well with anyone unless they wanted Iran to carry on developing in secret. Let us know when its confirmed rather than an opinion.

Yes indeed. All we have so far is the opinion of some highly dubious 'experts', plus Mr. Macron.

 

7 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

It's amusing that:

 

The left was howling that Iran had no nuclear weapon program. 

 

Then Trump bombs Iran's nuclear weapon program. 

 

And now the left is howling that Trump's bombing failed to destroy Iran's nuclear weapon program. 

It is amusing that the only country that has dropped a nuclear bomb on people thinks they should be the one to decide who should have the right to nuclear arms.

7 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

It's amusing that:

 

The left was howling that Iran had no nuclear weapon program. 

 

Then Trump bombs Iran's nuclear weapon program. 

 

And now the left is howling that Trump's bombing failed to destroy Iran's nuclear weapon program. 

"The left was howling that Iran had no nuclear weapon program."

 

Proof? 

7 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

It's amusing that:

 

The left was howling that Iran had no nuclear weapon program. 

 

Then Trump bombs Iran's nuclear weapon program. 

 

And now the left is howling that Trump's bombing failed to destroy Iran's nuclear weapon program. 

Yep another example of what I call left squirming and funny how they fail to see the ironies.

We had TACO Trump, the bully who won't do anything. Makes the decision, then Trump is risky, illegal, AO-C says impeach him! Meanwhile the Middle East breathes a sigh of relief and Iranians hope they might overthrow the regime. The New York Times no less, carried a story about how the Tehrangeles, LA Persian community, wish for the regime change.

This on top of how Lefties been behind Hamas. Didn't believe they use human shields, or their horrid jihadist background, Iran funding and objectives. Support Hezbollah and then have to pivot when Hezbollah is smashed and Assad is removed. Don't know how many famines Gaza has endured, been going on since early last year.

Could tell some of these clowns Trump thinks 1+1=2 and they'd say he's wrong. I'm joking Chomper, just joking.
 

8 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

It shouldn't sit well with anyone unless they wanted Iran to carry on developing in secret. Let us know when its confirmed rather than an opinion.

It should be none of anyone's business but the Iranians.

Just now, FritsSikkink said:

It should be none of anyone's business but the Iranians.

B.S. You are covering for terrorists to get their own weapons of mass destruction. Disgusting

4 minutes ago, fdimike said:

I'm not sure what all the histrionics are all about after all Israel has some 80-90 nukes which they refuse to admit to, refuse to sign the Non Proliferation Treaty and also refuse to allow UN inspectors into their nuclear production facilities.  It certainly appears there is a double standard when it comes to just who possesses nuclear weapons.  It's OK for Israel to have nuclear weapons but not anyone else in the region.  Personally I find it totally ludicrous for Israel to possess nuclear weapons unless they're interested in destroying their own people from the nuclear fallout.   The saddest part of all this is that the US has known about Israel's nuclear weapons for at least 40 years and no one in the Us government has said a word about the program for fear of losing all that Israeli money used to pay off the congress and every government since after Eisenhower.  

If you don't understand the double standard, guess you don't understand who are the Good guys after all. Wake up Mike.

Similarly those of you who don't understand why the US had no choice but to drop not one, but two atomic bombs to end WWII in the Pacific - dig into your history on the power of the Emperor and the psychology of the Japanese soldiers back then. Reminds me of the psychosis of the jihad movement today.

7 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

B.S. You are covering for terrorists to get their own weapons of mass destruction. Disgusting

Bombing the crap out civilians, invading countries and topple governments you don't like, kidnapping people and lock them up without any trial or lawyer, torture people, how should that be called?

Just now, FritsSikkink said:

Bombing the crap out civilians, invading countries and topple governments you don't like, how should that be called?

This is about Iran's wish to get nuclear weapons. If you want to talk about something else start a topic on it.

Again the west is asleep.  Iran should never have any nuclear capabilities. After all, they have lots of oil. And the goal of muslims is  clearly written in their koran.  

Enough of the diversion attempts and discuss the topic. This topic is not about Israel

 

“Pickaxe mountain” Iran’s Secret Nuclear Stronghold That Defies U.S. Bombs

 

 

35 minutes ago, koolkarl said:

And the goal of muslims is  clearly written in their koran.

 

If you are referring to muslim terrorists and the like, as far as I know, there is nothing in the koran about harming other religions. 

 

This is all recent bs made up by ultra conservative muslim clerical leaders to control their own people. 

 

You see, in many muslim countries, even children are forced to memorize and to be able to "recite" the koran, but they have to do it in arabic, which they do not understand, because they speak completely different languages in daily life.

 

Due to that discrepancy of their language and the koran's, these religious leaders can and do basically say anything they wish, and say that it is "written" in the koran, when it most certainly is not.

 

My 2 cents.

1 hour ago, Bkk Brian said:

This is about Iran's wish to get nuclear weapons. If you want to talk about something else start a topic on it.

What evidence do you have that Iran's wish to get nuclear weapons. Is your conclusion derived from Netanyahu's 33 years of rhetoric that Iran's nuclear nuke is imminent. I do not wish for Iran to get any nuclear weapons but all are the fears driven by Netanyahu are not backed up by evidence. US intelligence say that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon. 

10 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

What evidence do you have that Iran's wish to get nuclear weapons. Is your conclusion derived from Netanyahu's 33 years of rhetoric that Iran's nuclear nuke is imminent. I do not wish for Iran to get any nuclear weapons but all are the fears driven by Netanyahu are not backed up by evidence. US intelligence say that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon. 

Oh my, another one who hasn't read the OP and what it's about...😶

Now the name on everyone's lips is pickaxe mountain. Maybe it's the place that no one knows that is the real site?

2 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

B.S. You are covering for terrorists to get their own weapons of mass destruction. Disgusting

Not just disgusting, but totally crazy!

23 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

What evidence do you have that Iran's wish to get nuclear weapons. Is your conclusion derived from Netanyahu's 33 years of rhetoric that Iran's nuclear nuke is imminent. I do not wish for Iran to get any nuclear weapons but all are the fears driven by Netanyahu are not backed up by evidence. US intelligence say that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon. 

Enriching Uranium to 60% is way beyond anything they would need it for, except to build a bomb, where 90% enrichment is required.

Uranium enriched to 3–5% is sufficient for nuclear power plants, and up to 20% is used for research reactors. Enrichment to 60% far exceeds these needs, and there is no clear civilian application requiring such high purity, as even medical isotope production can use lower-enriched uranium

5 hours ago, mikeymike100 said:

Not just disgusting, but totally crazy!

USA telling every other country to do what, or else. Is disgusting, luckily that won't be happening for many decades yet. The way you abused indigenous people and black people is moronic. Yet still pretending to be the good guys. time you update your history books.

9 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

USA telling every other country to do what, or else. Is disgusting, luckily that won't be happening for many decades yet. The way you abused indigenous people and black people is moronic

God knows what paragon of International Morality you hail from. Fritz. Hmmm.

 

The fact that the place in question hasnt been blown up is proof there is nothing there.

 

7 hours ago, Purdey said:

Now the name on everyone's lips is pickaxe mountain. Maybe it's the place that no one knows that is the real site?

 

No, the site Iran's leaders are  really trying to conceal is called Brokeback Mountain.  They have been frequent but secretive visitors.

 

7 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

What evidence do you have that Iran's wish to get nuclear weapons.

 

A broad international consensus exists among governments, agencies and experts that Iran at least  in past years pursued a nuclear weapons program.  The points of contention are whether the program stopped in 2003 and how close Iran actually got to making a nuclear warhead.

 

"In the late 1990s, senior Iranian officials approved a plan, called the Amad Plan, to build an arsenal of five nuclear weapons by 2004. The project, which proceeded in secret and was led by Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, made considerable progress in just a few short years."¹  A lot of info available on the Web about the Amad (or AMAD) plan.  "The main element that Iran lacked during this program was the weapons-grade uranium or plutonium to fuel the bombs."²

 

The International Atomic Energy Agency stated in a 2015 report that, "The Agency assesses that a range of activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device were conducted in Iran prior to the end of 2003 as a coordinated effort, and some activities took place after 2003."³  However, the IAEA also said it had no evidence Iran had continued with such activities after 2009.

 

Iran has no need for a "peaceful" nuclear energy program.  The country has the world's third largest conventional reserves of petroleum and the second-largest of natural gas.  Building nuclear power plants in a country as prone to earthquakes as Iran would be a stupid  and unnecessary risk.   Iran's leaders have other reasons for maintaining uranium enrichment sites that go way beyond the levels needed for power generation.

 

¹A History of Iran's Nuclear Program- https://www.iranwatch.org/our-publications/weapon-program-background-report/history-irans-nuclear-program

²Ibid.

³Final Assessment on Past and Present Outstanding Issues regarding Iran’s Nuclear Programme   https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/documents/gov-2015-68.pdf

  

 

 

18 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

This isn’t going to sit well with some.

 

 

   Its quite important for Israel for there to be a strong threatening  Iran in the region. 

Saudi Arabia making peace with Israel depends on it