Israel Says Iran Moved Nuclear Centres, Trump Prepares Strikes
United States President Donald Trump has threatened to soon strike an area suspected of housing Iran’s nuclear centrifuges. Trump boasted that Iran would be unable to prevent the US attack.
“We will hit that area very hard, probably in the near future, and there is nothing they can do to stop it,” Trump said in response to a question about whether Iran had moved its centrifuges to Pickaxe Mountain in the Natanz region, as reported by Al Jazeera and CNN International on Tuesday (21/7/2026).
“Normally I wouldn’t say that. If I thought they could do something to prevent it, I would never say it; but we will hit that area in the near future, and… very hard,” he added.
The US’s closest ally, Israel, believes that Iran moved advanced centrifuges and part of its uranium stockpile to an underground facility south of Tehran following a 12-day war in June last year.
Israeli intelligence has been monitoring the site—known as Pickaxe Mountain—for months or more, as it is one of Iran’s primary nuclear facilities. The reinforced facility, located deep underground, makes it a difficult target for the US and Israel, while its central location within the country makes any ground operation extremely challenging.
CNN previously reported that Iran has drastically increased efforts to seal off access to its near-weapons-grade uranium stockpile, deliberately collapsing tunnels and rigging entrances with explosive mines. Iran possesses approximately 440 kilogrammes of highly enriched uranium, and eliminating this stockpile remains one of the primary war objectives for both Israel and the US. Israel estimates that Tehran has moved some of this uranium to Pickaxe Mountain.
“Activity and construction at the site increased after the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June 2025,” an Israeli source said. Towards the end of that war, the US launched strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan—but did not attack Pickaxe Mountain.
Last December, a senior Israeli official told CNN, “There are various signals, statements, and messages constantly emerging, indicating that Iran is rearming, enhancing its capabilities, and preparing for an attack.”