Trump Says US Could Hit Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain Within an Hour as Secret Strikes Emerge
[Video below.] President Donald Trump warned Monday night that American forces could attack Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain nuclear installation within an hour if he authorized the operation, delivering a fresh warning to Tehran while expressing optimism that Iranian leaders are eager to negotiate an agreement with Washington.
Speaking with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Trump said the United States remains firmly committed to ensuring that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons, regardless of whether that objective is achieved through diplomacy or additional military action.
“We cannot let Iran, an evil nation, who has killed many of our people, Soleimani is an example, no longer with us, but killed many of our people, we cannot let them have a nuclear weapon, and we won’t,” Trump stated.
Trump on Iran War: What we have done is amazing. pic.twitter.com/KZ1JkQyvyy
The president indicated that the American military retains the capability to strike additional Iranian nuclear targets with little advance notice, specifically identifying the heavily fortified Pickaxe Mountain site as a potential target.
“We bombed out all of their potential nuclear power. Now, we might have to go after Pickaxe [Mountain], but that’s not a big deal. We can do it in, literally, we can do that in one hour, okay, as soon as we want, at any time we want.”
Trump also rejected the characterization of the current American confrontation with Iran as a full-scale war, arguing that the prolonged absence of major combat operations and the devastating impact of American economic pressure have left Tehran in a weakened position.
“I mean, what’s a war? A war is fighting. Take a look at World War I, World War II, these were..when was the last time you saw us fighting with them? We go months and months. We talk. They’re in not a good negotiating position. Their economy is cratering because of us. They have 301 percent inflation. They don’t have money. They’re not paying their soldiers. They’re not paying their police. We’re not fighting a war.”
The president pointed to extensive damage inflicted on Iran’s military capabilities, including its naval forces, while maintaining that Tehran has strong incentives to reach an agreement before the confrontation escalates.
“This is a very soft war. We did have a big hit on them, and we hit them very hard, and that took out their navy, 159 ships are gone. But this isn’t like a war that’s going on. It could happen if they don’t make a deal, but they want to make a deal very badly, there’s a very good chance we make a deal,” he said.
The remarks came amid new disclosures about American military operations against Iranian targets. The Wall Street Journal reported that US forces struck Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, part of a series of limited attacks that had not previously been publicly acknowledged.
According to a senior US official cited by Axios, an American fighter jet destroyed an Iranian surface-to-air missile launcher after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel fired an anti-aircraft missile from the position. Washington characterized the response as a defensive operation.
American officials also disclosed that smaller strikes have been conducted over recent weeks, including operations intended to protect commercial shipping from Iranian threats in the Strait of Hormuz. The administration reportedly chose not to announce some of those missions to avoid creating the impression that a major new offensive was underway.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard, meanwhile, claimed Monday that it had shot down two American drones south of Qeshm Island. The claim came as tensions continued around the strategically important waterway, through which substantial volumes of international oil shipments ordinarily pass.
