Iran America War: The whole world knows that Iran’s nuclear program has never been limited to any one place. Iran does not have the capacity to confront the US and Israel on its own; over the last two decades, it has built a large network of enrichment plants, uranium conversion centers and underground bunkers, many of which are built inside mountains or buried under deep layers of rocks to protect against air attacks. This underworld of Iran is once again under the watchful eyes of the entire world.
Did Iran trick America?
Iran says areas around its only nuclear power plant, in Bushehr, have already been hit during the war, although its reactor, operated by Russia, was undamaged. Tehran also said that the US attacked the cleared area where it plans to build the ‘Darkovin Nuclear Plant’, while the UN’s ‘International Atomic Energy Agency’ says that the last time they inspected the site, there was no nuclear material there.
Iran’s special nuclear sites
Natanz, Iran’s main uranium enrichment center, is located about 220 kilometers south-east of Tehran, the main center of Iran’s uranium enrichment program. The complex houses the ‘Fuel Enrichment Plant’ (FEP), where thousands of gas centrifuges enrich uranium. There is also a ‘Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant’, which is used to test more advanced centrifuge models. The base has been repeatedly targeted in covert and military operations. But Iran’s nuclear program did not end.
After Natanz, Fordow is also an important nuclear site of Iran. But, now a new underworld has been discovered which has exposed Iran’s new nuclear secret and the name of this newest and perhaps the most controversial place is ‘Pickaxe Mountain’, which is located just south of Natanz. Construction work at this site reportedly began around 2020. Satellite images show that there is a huge underground tunnel network inside the mountain, making it one of the safest underground places in the world.
Where is the underworld of Iran?
The place where Iran has hidden thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges, its name is ‘Pickaxe Mountain Complex’, which is very secure and not even a bird can kill here. This news has given America and Israel sleepless nights. Trump and Netanyahu fear that Iran may be trying to salvage or rebuild key parts of its nuclear program after months of attacks.
Israeli intelligence estimates have been cited. According to these estimates, thousands of centrifuges have been delivered to tunnels beneath ‘Pickaxe Mountain’ (also known as ‘Mount Kolang Gaz La’) near the Natanz Nuclear Complex. However, till now Iran has not confirmed this claim and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not even received permission to investigate this place.
Why is America worried about ‘Pickaxe Mountain’?
The concern is not only that Iran has another underground base. Rather, the concern is that ‘Pickaxe Mountain’ may be deeper and stronger than Natanz and Ford, putting it beyond the reach of even America’s most powerful conventional bunker-buster weapons. There are two reasons for this, one of which is that intelligence reports show that there may be important equipment for enrichment here. Secondly, Iran is continuously doing excavation work here.
What’s inside Pickaxe Mountain?
What is housed inside ‘Pickaxe Mountain’ is not yet clear as the UN nuclear watchdog has never received permission to access the site. But speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump acknowledged the possibility that Iran may have delivered centrifuges to Pickaxe Mountain. Trump said, “We will attack that area … probably very soon. And they won’t be able to do anything about it.”
Many of its entry points are visible in satellite images.
In 2023, an Associated Press report on Pickaxe Mountain included analysis from experts at the James Martin Center for Non-Proliferation Studies. It said Iran was probably building a facility at a depth of 80 meters (260 ft) to 100 meters (328 ft). Since then, excavation has continued at this site and some experts believe that it may go even deeper underground.
Experts say that the size of the construction project suggests that Iran will probably be able to use this underground facility to enrich uranium and build centrifuges.
Centrifuges, which are tube-shaped devices arranged in large rows of dozens of machines, enrich (purify and potentiate) uranium gas by spinning it rapidly. Additional rotating rows would allow Iran to rapidly enrich uranium under the protection of the mountain.
Before the 2025 attacks, Iran had enriched uranium to about 60%, close to the level used in weapons. Since then, there is no information that Iran has resumed enrichment work, and its stocks are believed to still be at the same enrichment sites that were bombed.
Comments are closed.