Former Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson has claimed that Donald Trump may be days away from launching a nuclear strike on Iran to destroy its Pickaxe mountain lair.
uncertain
Trump → claim → lair
A strike against the underground nuclear site would render World War Three 'inevitable', said the conservative podcaster.
asserted
podcaster → render → site
He said the US president was under pressure from Benjamin Netanyahu, who he described as 'cornered and desperate' following the Israeli election where he lost his majority.
asserted
he → say → majority
'Netanyahu has been pushing hard for one,' Carlson claimed.
asserted
Carlson → push → one
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.
asserted
House → respond → comment
Carlson cited no documents and relied on an unnamed 'informed observer'.
asserted
Carlson → cite → observer
'Bibi calls Trump about it every day,' Carlson cited the anonymous source as saying.
asserted
Carlson → call → source
Former Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson has warned that Donald Trump may be days away from launching a nuclear strike on Iran to destroy its Pickaxe mountain lair
US President Donald Trump speaks at a midterm campaign rally at Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa on November 1
It came as Trump threatened Iran with 'the hammer' at a campaign rally in Iowa on Sunday.
'
uncertain
Trump → warn → Sunday
And the only reason why I’m not finished with Iran is I want to be nice.
asserted
I → finish → Iran
I want to try and save all those lives if I can...
asserted
I → want → lives
But at some point we’re going to have to give them the hammer,' Trump told supporters.
asserted
Trump → go → supporters
He made the comment after holding a call with Netanyahu on Saturday over whether and when to ramp up combat operations against Tehran.
asserted
He → make → Tehran
Posting on X to his 17.9 million followers, Carlson wrote: 'After the first nuclear strike, World War Three is inevitable.
asserted
War → post → strike
The tweet has been viewed by 28.1 million users.
asserted
tweet → view → users
Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La or 'Pickaxe Mountain' lies on the south side of Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site, which was bombed by the United States during Operation Midnight Hammer in 2025’s 12-day war between Iran and Israel.
asserted
which → lie → Iran
It is one of the few Iranian sites linked to the country's nuclear programme that has not been the target of US and Israeli strikes.
asserted
that → link → strikes
There have been unproven allegations that some of Tehran's stock of highly enriched uranium may be kept there, which could be further enriched for use in nuclear weapons.
uncertain
which → enrich → weapons
A satellite view shows an overview of the Natanz nuclear facility and Pickaxe Mountain, near Natanz, Iran, June 30
Construction of the facility began in 2020, according to the ISIS thinktank
Recent satellite images appear to show construction work taking place at the site.
uncertain
images → show → site
Construction of the facility began in 2020, according to the ISIS thinktank, after what Iranian authorities reported at the time as an explosion caused by an act of sabotage at the Natanz site.
uncertain
authorities → begin → site
Tehran claimed at the time the Natanz sabotage had caused significant damage, and in September of that year, the country's then nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, said the regime had started constructing a 'modern, larger and more comprehensive hall in all dimensions in the heart of the mountain near Natanz' for making advanced centrifuges.
asserted
regime → claim → centrifuges
Centrifuges, tube-shaped devices arranged in large cascades of dozens of machines, rapidly spin uranium gas to enrich it.
asserted
Centrifuges → shape → it
Experts agree that the size of the project indicates Iran will likely be able to use the underground facility to enrich uranium as well as to build centrifuges, which produce nuclear fuel.
asserted
which → agree → fuel
Additional cascades spinning would allow Tehran to quickly enrich uranium under the mountain’s protection.
asserted
Tehran → spin → protection
Protected by anti-aircraft batteries, fencing and Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, the facility sprawls across 2.7 square kilometres (1 square mile) in the country’s arid Central Plateau.
asserted
facility → protect → Plateau
It has multiple entrances visible from satellite images.
asserted
It → have → images
In 2023, an Associated Press story on Pickaxe Mountain included analysis from experts at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies that suggested Iran is likely building a facility at a depth of between 80 metres (260 feet) and 100 metres (328 feet).
uncertain
Iran → include → feet
Digging has continued at the site in the time since, with some experts suggesting it could be even deeper underground.
uncertain
it → continue → time
Such underground facilities led the US to create the GBU-57 bomb, which can plow through at least 60 metres (200 feet) of earth before detonating, according to the American military.
uncertain
which → lead → military
'An attack on Pickaxe Mountain could target the above-ground incoming power supply lines, the location of ventilation shafts [the targets in the attacks in June last year] and the open tunnel entrances,' the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security said.
uncertain
Institute → target → Science
Satellite imagery suggests the site features two pairs of entrances and a security wall that was recently completed.
uncertain
that → suggest → entrances
Since the US and Israel began launching strikes, a pair of eastern tunnel portal entrances has been hardened and partially backfilled to prevent ground vehicle access, but they have not been sealed completely, according to the ISIS thinktank.
uncertain
they → begin → thinktank
Sam Lair, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told Reuters that increasing the strength of the tunnel entrances would complicate 'targeting with penetrating munitions like bunker busters'.
asserted
increasing → tell → busters
'We'll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily,' Trump told reporters on July 21.
asserted
Trump → hit → July
On July 28 he repeated the threat: 'I know exactly what's going on at Pickaxe.
asserted
what → repeat → Pickaxe
It's not a big problem - we took out their nuclear sites, and we'll have to take out Pickaxe if we don't make a deal.'
asserted
we → take → deal
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has previously said that 'no nuclear activity is taking place' at Pickaxe Mountain.
asserted
activity → say → Mountain
He described US threats as 'a fabricated pretext for aggression, destruction, and sabotage'.
asserted
He → describe → aggression
In the final days of a US midterm election campaign, driven by voter frustration over high energy and commodity prices stemming from the conflict, Trump and Netanyahu are threatening to bomb Iran again.
asserted
Trump → drive → Iran
'I have a decision to make,' the US president said on Fox News this week.
asserted
president → have → News
'Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal?
asserted
I → finish → deal
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
