President Donald Trump warned Friday that the United States could soon launch an attack on Iran’s heavily fortified Pickaxe Mountain facility, reiterating that Washington will prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon as U.S. military operations against Iran continue. Reuters describes Pickaxe Mountain, near the damaged Natanz enrichment facility, as a fortified site containing two deeply buried tunnel complexes.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump again made clear that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons remains a central U.S. objective.
“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” he said, before adding, “We may hit Pickaxe very soon…if there was anything going on with Pickaxe.”
Trump was also questioned about remarks made a day earlier by Vice President JD Vance, who said he would not describe the continuing confrontation between the United States and Iran as a “war.”
Trump on Iran:
We may hit Pickaxe Mountain very soon because if there is anything going on with Pickaxe. pic.twitter.com/kwlHZuV6M7
— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 4, 2026
With American forces having resumed strikes on Iranian targets in recent weeks, Trump was asked how he would characterize the ongoing hostilities. The president said he viewed the operation as a comparatively limited military engagement rather than a full-scale war, a characterization he has made publicly.
“A lot of people don’t call it a war. I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing. We did Venezuela and we did this. In Venezuela we lost nobody, and in this we lost 18 people. And Vietnam – you lost a hundred thousand people,” he replied.
Vance’s comments came one day after Trump indicated that he did not believe the latest round of fighting with Iran would continue for an extended period.
When asked how long he expected the renewed escalation to last, Trump responded, “Not too long”. He then suggested that Tehran may be approaching the limits of how much additional American military pressure it can absorb.
“I don’t think it will be very much longer. I don’t know how much more they can take,” Trump said of Iran.
Trump also emphasized that Washington remains prepared to carry out additional military action against Iran if circumstances warrant it.
“It was a very heavy attack last night, and we are prepared to do another one anytime we want,” he stressed.
{Matzav.com}
