Trump Threatens Strike On Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, Says US Can Hit Target 'In One Hour' If Talks Fail'

Washington DC: US President Donald Trump on Monday (local time) said that Washington might have to target Iran's Pickaxe Mountain if Tehran fails to reach a deal with the United States to end the conflict in West Asia, while asserting that American forces could carry out such an operation "in literally one hour" and that there was a "very good chance" of reaching an agreement.  

Speaking to Fox News ahead of the high-stakes US midterm elections, Trump said the United States had already significantly weakened Iran's military and nuclear capabilities through its previous military operations but warned that further action remained an option if diplomatic efforts failed. 

"Think about the war you're talking about. We bombed out with Midnight Hammer; we bombed out all of their potential nuclear power. Now we might have to go after Pickaxe, but that's not a big deal. We can do it literally--we can do that in one hour. As soon as we want, at any time we want," Trump said. 

He maintained that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons remained a key objective of his administration, describing Tehran as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. 

"Iran is the number one state sponsor of terror anywhere in the world, and we're talking about for the last 50 years. What they did, they've killed so many of our soldiers, so many people. Not only our people," Trump said. 

Recalling the US military action against Iran, Trump said he had instructed his administration to undertake a military operation because Washington could not allow Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons. 

"And we had a great period about seven months ago. I said we're going to have to do a little detour," he said. 

"I told my people we're going to have to do a little detour, a little journey to Iran, because we cannot let Iran, an evil nation which has killed many of our people--Soleimani is an example, no longer with us--we cannot let them have a nuclear weapon, and we won't," Trump added. 

Trump also claimed that Iran's military capabilities had been substantially weakened, including its navy, air force and air defence systems. He said Tehran retained some missile and drone capabilities but had limited capacity to manufacture more. 

"Their military is gone. Their navy is gone, their air force is gone, and their anti-aircraft is gone. They have some missiles, but they don't have many, and they have very little capacity to build more. They have drones, but they don't have very many; they have very little capacity to build more. And what we've done is amazing," he said. 

However, Trump sought to distinguish the current situation from an ongoing war, saying further military action could follow if Iran did not reach an agreement with Washington. 

"But this isn't like a war that's going on--there's no war raging. It could happen if they don't make a deal, but they want to make a deal very badly and there's a very good chance we make a deal," he said. 

Emphasising Washington's position in the negotiations, Trump said the United States was dealing from a position of strength and expressed a preference for a diplomatic settlement to avoid further casualties. 

"But here's the thing: we're dealing from total strength. We can end it at any time. If I could make a deal, I'd rather do it, save a lot of lives. But think about a war. This isn't war," he added. 

The remarks come following reports of renewed US military activity targeting Iranian locations. According to The Wall Street Journal, the United States reportedly carried out a clandestine operation targeting Iran's Qeshm Island on Monday as part of a series of limited military attacks against Tehran in recent weeks. 

The reported operation came shortly after Trump indicated that a potential agreement with Tehran remained achievable, despite uncertainty over whether Washington intended to resume broader military action against Iran. 

Earlier, US conservative commentator Tucker Carlson had claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was pressuring Trump to consider a nuclear strike against Iran, with the suspected underground nuclear facility at Pickaxe Mountain in central Iran allegedly being discussed as a potential target. 

In a lengthy post on X on Sunday, Carlson alleged that the Trump administration could be days away from considering such an attack and claimed that Netanyahu had been lobbying senior US officials to resume military operations against Tehran rather than pursue a diplomatic settlement. 

"Under pressure from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Trump administration may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran. The target would be Pickax Mountain in central Iran, where Israeli intelligence claims the Iranian government has restarted its nuclear enrichment program," Carlson wrote. 

Trump's latest remarks indicate that while Washington continues to signal the possibility of a diplomatic agreement with Tehran, the US President has kept the option of further military action on the table if negotiations fail.