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

[Social Media]

 

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 former 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

 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

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.

 

[Bkk Brian]

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.

[Yellowtail]

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. 

[Chomper Higgot]

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.

[Yellowtail]

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?