Israeli Intelligence Assesses Iran Also Moved Enriched Uranium Into Pickaxe Mountain Tunnels

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing Israeli and US officials, that Israeli intelligence assesses Iran moved thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges into tunnels at Pickaxe Mountain near Natanz last fall, following the June 2025 twelve-day war 123. The tunnels lie between 100 and 135 meters underground, making them almost completely resistant to conventional aerial bombardment 1. CNN separately reported, citing an Israeli official, that at least part of Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent was also transferred to the site 4. The Times of Israel reported it remains unclear where the centrifuges originated: they may have come from other Iranian nuclear sites, and satellite imagery has shown roughly fifteen months of truck movement and construction at the facility 2. Israel has shared the intelligence findings with the United States, according to the Journal report, and Iran has not permitted IAEA inspectors access to the site or disclosed its purpose 12. President Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt on July 13 that Pickaxe Mountain is "a possible target for a nice big fat shot," the first time he named the site explicitly as a potential strike target 12.