Washington is preparing to strike what may be the last red line in its war with Iran, the mountain redoubt where Tehran is believed to have hidden nuclear centrifuges.
President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that the US would “heavily” hit Mount Kolang Gaz La, known as Pickaxe Mountain, after reports emerged that Iran may have moved nuclear enrichment equipment to the fortified site. “It doesn’t mean anything unless they have the material,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The threat came as the 13th consecutive night of US strikes concluded and Iran retaliated against targets across the Gulf. Tehran claimed responsibility for hitting power plants and water desalination facilities in Kuwait, a significant escalation from its earlier pattern of striking only military assets. Kuwait confirmed that several civilian infrastructure sites were hit.
“We are looking at different versions of catastrophic failure,” a senior administration official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The war, which began after Trump abandoned the 60-day ceasefire agreement signed on June 17, has now killed at least three US soldiers, two in Jordan and one in Iraq, with a fourth still listed as missing. Iran says it is fighting a “full-scale war,” and its president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has made no secret that diplomatic channels remain open only through intermediaries.
Trump insisted Iran “wants to desperately meet” but said the US has “no interest” until Tehran makes a meaningful offer.
The question nobody in Washington is answering aloud: what happens after the mountain is hit?
Pickaxe Mountain is not a nuclear facility in the conventional sense. It is a fortified military site deep inside Iranian territory. Striking it would represent a major escalation in a campaign that has already hit 13,000 targets across Iran. The International Atomic Energy Agency has not confirmed that enrichment equipment was moved there, and satellite imagery analysts remain divided on what the activity inside the mountain signifies.
Meanwhile, Iranian attacks on Gulf states are becoming harder to contain. Jordan said it intercepted five drones and three missiles Tuesday night. Bahrain reported drones targeting its air navigation systems. And now Kuwait is counting the damage to its civilian water supply.
The White House frame is that the strikes aim to “degrade Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.” But shipping traffic through the strait has plummeted from pre-war levels, with only six fuel tankers and cargo ships crossing on Monday, all but one taking the northern route near Iran. The strait, it seems, is already effectively closed for normal commerce.
Trump’s threat against Pickaxe Mountain may be intended as a bargaining chip. But in a war where both sides have already crossed lines neither expected to cross, the question is whether there is anyone left on either side willing to stop before the mountain becomes a crater.