Israel believes Iran moved nuclear centrifuges to tunnel system under Pickaxe Mountain: Wall Street Journal

Israeli intelligence believes that Iran moved thousands of nuclear centrifuges into tunnels deep inside Pickaxe Mountain, and US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack the site, according to a Tuesday report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The report indicates that Tehran transferred thousands of uranium-enriched centrifuges to Pickaxe Mountain, also known as Mount Kolang in Iran, last fall after the 12-day war in June when American and Israeli forces conducted airstrikes on Iran's three main nuclear sites.

Israeli intelligence revealed that the nuclear materials were moved into the tunnel system deep inside the mountain, raising concerns by the US and Israel that Iran could reconstitute its nuclear program, despite Tehran being in talks about a potential nuclear arms accord.

The WSJ reported that as Israel's war aims have increasingly diverged from the US' priorities, "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tried to persuade President Trump to resume all-out attacks on Iran to further set back Tehran's weapons programs and rebuilding effort."

The US has stepped up attacks in the last 10 days, and Trump said military forces were prepared to attack Pickaxe Mountain, according to the newspaper.

The president told reporters Tuesday that he was aware of reports about centrifuges being transferred and said the US would be "hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily."

Pickaxe Mountain has been under surveillance by the US and Israel for years, "and what little is known about Iran's activities at the site suggests it would present challenges to any airstrikes," according to the Journal.

Pickaxe is located near one of Iran's main nuclear installations and was commissioned as an underground replacement for an Iranian centrifuge-assembly facility that was badly damaged after a 2020 explosion, according to the report.

Experts estimate that the subterranean complex under Pickaxe Mountain reaches 300 feet to 450 feet deep beneath solid rock, with enough room to accommodate several nuclear-related facilities.

The WSJ report pointed out that the placement of centrifuges at Pickaxe Mountain after the June 2025 airstrikes "doesn't necessarily mean Iran is building an enrichment site there ... Tehran may have put its surviving centrifuges there to minimize their risk of destruction."

It said it is unclear where the centrifuges Israel told the US were taken to Pickaxe Mountain came from and that spare centrifuges might have been located at Iran's main nuclear sites.

Iran has given the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), no access to the site and provided no information about its work or plans there since 2021.

Iran's foreign minister and the IAEA have not responded to inquiries regarding the latest report of the nuclear centrifuges being transferred.