What is Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, the mystery site Trump warns he’ll attack?

EXPLAINERTensions escalate as the US president threatens to destroy Iran’s fortified nuclear site in the south of Tehran.As the attacks between the United States and Iran are escalating and heading towards an unprecedented and unpredictable stage, US President Donald Trump made new threats to attack and destroy Iran’s nuclear site known as “Pickaxe Mountain”.The threat has raised a series of questions about the nature of the nuclear complex, which, according to media reports, is described as one of the most heavily fortified facilities in the Islamic Republic.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US, Iran exchange attacks around Strait of Hormuzlist 2 of 4US bombs Iran again, Tehran strikes Gulf, tankers: What’s the latest?list 3 of 4With US-Iran trust broken again, can Pakistan bring them back to talks?list 4 of 4Oil prices hit 1-month high as US-Iran attacks dim Strait of Hormuz outlookend of listWhat makes it distinctive, and why is it a key target?What is the secret behind the site?Pickaxe Mountain is located south of Tehran and is a highly fortified site that contains two tunnel complexes buried deep underground, which makes it difficult to totally destroy.US intelligence reports indicate that the facility has been excavated deep inside the mountain, beneath hundreds of metres of solid granite rock, to protect it from powerful bombs designed to penetrate bunkers.According to the US-based Al-Monitor website, intelligence agencies suspect that Tehran is seeking to build a secret, undeclared uranium-enrichment facility that would serve as a “strategic hedge” for its nuclear programme.Tehran, however, has maintained since construction at the site began in 2020 that the facility is intended solely for assembling and manufacturing advanced centrifuges.“We’re going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ready,” President Trump said during an interview with The Hugh Hewitt Show.“We’re watching Pickaxe Mountain very closely. We don’t see any activity there. They’re not doing very well with their nuclear situation. Every time we hear about it, we blow it up. So they don’t like to talk about it. But we’ll probably give Pickaxe a hit relatively soon,” Trump said.