Trump eyes strike on underground Iran nuke site ahead of dignified transfer for US troops
President Donald Trump is signaling a possible new escalation in the Middle East, saying the U.S. could strike Iran’s heavily fortified Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility as the conflict continues to intensify.
The president warned the U.S. campaign in Iran would expand if necessary, putting one of the country’s most protected nuclear sites squarely in his sights.
The mountain houses a nuclear facility constructed in 2020. At the time, Iran said the facility would replace a centrifuge plant at Natanz that was previously destroyed. The plant would have assembled 6,000 nuclear centrifuges per year, according to CNBC.
“It doesn’t mean anything unless they have the material they don’t have. We follow the material. That’s where the action is,” Trump said. “And we’ll be hitting that area very probably pretty soon. And it’s not a, not a thing they can do about it. You know, normally, I wouldn’t say that if I thought they could do something about it I would never say that. But we’ll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily.”
Following the new threats, Iran launched a new wave of drone strikes into Kuwait, expanding the conflict past Iranian borders. The country said it also targeted U.S. assets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan and a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
In response, the U.S. launched its 11th consecutive night of airstrikes, targeting aircraft hangars, drone storage sites and military logistics infrastructure.
Where negotiations stand
Meanwhile, negotiations remain stalled.
Iran’s interior minister, a key figure in talks with the U.S., visited Pakistan, which has been trying to broker a new ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.
However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran’s demand to control the Strait of Hormuz and charge tolls for shipping shows Tehran is not serious about reaching a peace agreement.
“Unfortunately, as of now, despite their direct outreaches — and Iran has been reaching out to the United States, both directly and indirectly, to engage in talks about settling the differences — with regards to what’s happening in that part of the world, unfortunately, so far, even though we have reached agreements, they have not kept their commitments,” Rubio said.
He added, “The problem we’re having right now is that they’re not serious about talks. If they’re serious, we’re serious. If they’re not, then we will do what is necessary to protect that, our interests and also the interests of our allies.”
Speaking at the ASEAN conference in the Philippines, Rubio said Iranian control of the strait would threaten the global economy and undermine freedom of navigation across one of the world’s most important shipping routes.
Honoring those who died
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has identified the third service member believed to have been killed in last week’s Iranian attack on a U.S. air base in Jordan as 28-year-old Army Sgt. Angel Rampersad.
The other two killed in that attack were 25-year-old Army First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan of Hawaii and 19-year-old Private Isabella Gonzales of Texas.
On Wednesday, Trump will attend the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members killed in recent fighting, including one who died detonating an Iranian attack drone in Iraq.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
