We know now, from Israeli intelligence, that the Iranians have moved thousands of centrifuges and a store of enriched uranium into their deepest nuclear facility, 300 feet underground at the sonorously-named Pickaxe Mountain. The very name is somehow soothing to Americans; it sounds like a nonexistent Civil War battle (the Battle of Pickaxe Mountain, Tennessee). It also may put some in mind of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the first commissioner of Baseball, and also of Walter Huston, having put down his prospector’s pickaxe, dancing his jig in The Treasure of Sierra Madre.
But Pickaxe Mountain in the Islamic Republic of Iran is no joke. It is there that the deepest, least penetrable, and therefore the most threatening, of Iran’s nuclear sites has been dug, to a depth of 300 feet. And it is now on the target list, according to President Donald Trump, of the Americans. But many questions remain. Can the American 30,000 pound bunker-buster bombs (MOPs, short for Massive Ordnance Penetrators) smash all the way through 300 meters of rock to destroy those centrifuges? And if they can’t, then what? More on the target of Pickaxe Mountain can be found here: “Why Pickaxe Mountain could become Iran’s next nuclear flashpoint – analysis,” by Yonah Jeremy Bob, Jerusalem Post, July 21, 2026:
In a July 13 interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show, US President Donald Trump said, “We’re going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ready,” while in another breath said, “We see no activity there.”This second part of Trump’s statements about Iran’s nuclear facility at Pickaxe Mountain- that there is no activity there, or, as the hawkish Institute for Science and International Security think tank has put it, that the facility is still not operational- is a major reason that neither the US president nor Israel has ordered a strike to date.All top US and Israeli defense sources on the issue have also told the Jerusalem Post in several recent classified briefings to date that there is no current threat from the site, and that the best reason to target it would at most be to eliminate a potential future threat.All of these views contradict Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal report and CNN’s stunning reports that Israeli intelligence has told the US that Iran has moved thousands of centrifuges and also enriched uranium to Pickaxe Mountain. At press time, none of the several sources which had recently told the Post that there was no current threat at Pickaxe Mountain had clarified the matter despite several attempts by the Post to get to the bottom of the dispute….
Attacks on the nuclear facilities at Pickaxe Mountain, even if they do not entirely remove the threat, could certainly damage the site, and slow down Iran’s progress toward a nuclear weapon. They could buy time, and during that time the people of Iran may overthrow their oppressive and economically faltering regime, and abandon the nuclear program altogether. Furthermore, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leaders have so far been unimpressed with the American campaign of bombing Iranian ports on the Gulf and are not close to surrender. But an attack on Pickaxe Mountain may be enough to concentrate Iranian minds wonderfully, so that they will be more inclined to turn over their store of uranium enriched to a level of 60%, if it has not been buried so deep under the rubble that it remains irretrievable.
Walter Sieruk says
The use of a very strong might of the power of a US and Israeli airstrikes against those despots, and their vicious thugs in uniform /the IRGC is a very fitting way that those dangerous hostile and menacing fiendish villains Islamic regime need to and should be dealt with.
As the third President of the United Sates,Thomas Jefferson had, so rightly and wisely, declared, “With every barbarous people….force is law.”
Beans🫘 says
Walter
We have ordered some GBU 57s after last years strikes. I doubt they will be ready yet.
There are probably 6 left in stock. They have to use them extremely carefully. There might be even more but it ain’t many. It is a very tough ask of our men and women in uniform to knock this place out.
I do believe we can disable it for a few years and keep an eye on it. Destroying it, I just don’t think we have the fire power.
Walter Sieruk says
t’s best to finish the job, as in “Get it over with” which by eliminating that horrific tyrannical regime, once and for all. As it had been, rightly and wisely. “Half-measures in war is madness and folly.”t’s best to finish the job, as in “Get it over with” which by eliminating that horrific tyrannical regime, once and for all. As it had been, rightly and wisely. “Half-measures in war is madness and folly.”
Then after the collapse of that “mullah regime”, the Iranian people will be free to establish a legitimate, genuine, government that ensure and respects the natural basic human rights of its citizens. It’s necessary needed and important that terror and death inflecting regime of Iran is horrendous affront to all the is right, good and of value, so, therefore, a change needs to takes place in Iran.
The reason why this is so is because that tyrannical Islamic regime of Iran is the enemy the Iranian people, through that misery and death inflecting horrific Islamic tyranny of Iran, which is evil in sense of that word. Therefore, that Islamic tyranny is so terribly horrific and cruelly oppressive that it should be overthrown and replaced with a legitimate, genuine, government, which respects and safeguards those natural human rights of the people of Iran.
For that horrendously cruel oppressive malicious and murderous Islamic regime of Iran, denies the Iranian, people their basic natural human rights. As in consequence the people of Iran would and should revolt against that viciously brutal tyrannical “’mullah regime” of Iran.
Accordingly, the Iranian people are right and righteous by engaging in bitter and strong protests against those cruel malicious and murderous tyrants in power of that cruel and oppressive Sharia based dictatorship of that vicious Islamic regime of Iran.
Then after the collapse of that “mullah regime”, the Iranian people will be free to establish a legitimate, genuine, government that ensure and respects the natural basic human rights of its citizens. It’s necessary needed and important that terror and death inflecting regime of Iran is horrendous affront to all the is right, good and of value, so, therefore, a change needs to takes place in Iran.
The reason why this is so is because that tyrannical Islamic regime of Iran is the enemy the Iranian people, through that misery and death inflecting horrific Islamic tyranny of Iran, which is evil in sense of that word.
Therefore, that Islamic tyranny is so terribly horrific and cruelly oppressive that it should be overthrown and replaced with a legitimate, genuine, government, which respects and safeguards those natural human rights of the people of Iran.
For that horrendously cruel oppressive malicious and murderous Islamic regime of Iran, denies the Iranian, people their basic natural human rights. As in consequence the people of Iran would and should revolt against that viciously brutal tyrannical “’mullah regime” of Iran.
Accordingly, the Iranian people are right and righteous by engaging in bitter and strong protests against those cruel malicious and murderous tyrants in power of that cruel and oppressive Sharia based dictatorship of that vicious Islamic regime of Iran.
Frank Anderson says
From World War Two and the brilliant work of Barnes Wallis, the 12,000-pound Tall Boy and 22,000-pound Grand Slam used shock waves to destroy targets without having to penetrate all the way. It would not surprise me that MANY MOPs dropped close together and timed to detonate simultaneously would destroy Pickaxe.
OLD GUY says
I’m all for that.
gravenimage says
U.S. and Israel Will Be Comin’ Round Pickaxe Mountain When They Come
…………………………………………………………………..
Sadly, we gave the Mullahs plenty of time to move their junk.
Beans🫘 says
Yes graven image. Yes!
From what ti understand, the Iranians could take those centrifuges and split them up and move them into other locations.
It isn’t easy. But they can put them on a truck, move them to multiple caves.
We then bomb the place but the centrifuges are gone. And then we have to keep quiet or humiliate Trump. And Iran would keep quiet as well….
Also. The GBU 57 is in very short supply. So you have to use it very carefully. It is a boutique weapon, unlike other systems, it is very rare and very difficult to manufacture. It’s made sort of like a one off painting. While other weapons are made like Model T Fords, on an assembly line.
gravenimage says
All too true, Beans.
Billy says
If the USA Army has clandestinely monitored the movement of Iranian arms and military personnel, the USA Army should be able to hit their targets. President Trump and our Leaders have failed to identify Islam and its Muslims as actual enemies of America and all Non-Muslims. Hence, Muslims will continue their violence and terrorism against Non-Muslims and fellow Muslims throughout the world. Islam’s Muslims are murderous, Totalitarian Terrorists of Allah operating as a Criminal-Terrorist-Gang Enterprise under Islamic Law to ultimately conquer the enemies of Allah, the Non-Muslims, with Islamic Law DBA Islam(Qur’an 8:60; 9:5, 29, 111; 49:15, etc.). Genocidal Allah in Qur’an 8:39 commands, “And engage in war with them[Non-Muslims] until there will not be sedition and the religion will be completely to Allah…”