U.S. officials assess that Iran plans to use its deeply buried “Pickaxe Mountain” facility as a heavily fortified shelter for its nuclear program, CNN reported.

The facility is buried beneath layers of granite, potentially placing it beyond the reach of existing conventional bunker-busting weapons.

The assessment follows a new analysis of six years of satellite imagery that identified a recent “surge in construction” at the site.

The United States is reportedly considering options for striking Iran’s underground nuclear facilities as President Trump repeatedly warns that Tehran will never be permitted to obtain a nuclear weapon.

“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We may hit Pickaxe very soon…if there was anything going on with Pickaxe.”

The comments came after the United States resumed strikes against Iranian targets for the first time in several weeks.

Asked whether he considered the ongoing confrontation a war, Trump described it as a “military conflict.”

“A lot of people don’t call it a war,” Trump said. “I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing.”

Trump compared the confrontation to previous American conflicts, saying the United States lost no personnel during its operation in Venezuela while 18 Americans have been killed in the current conflict with Iran.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)