Iran Threatens ‘Devastating Response’ if US Attacks Pickaxe Mountain

A satellite view shows tunnel entrances at Pickaxe Mountain near Natanz, Iran, on June 30.Vantor/Reuters

PARIS, July 14, Saudi Arabia Breaking News — Iran will deliver a “devastating response” if US President Donald Trump carries out his threat to attack the fortified Pickaxe Mountain complex, a senior Iranian security source told CNN.

“If Trump acts on his threats, we will deliver a devastating response, and the price will be paid by American soldiers and his regional partners,” the source said.

Trump said Monday that Pickaxe Mountain, known in Farsi as Kuh-e Kolang, was among the sites being considered for a US attack.

“We see no activity there. They’re not doing well with their nuclear situation,” Trump said during an interview with The Hugh Hewitt Show.

“Every time we hear about it, we blow it up. So, they don’t like talking about it. But we’ll probably give Pickaxe a shot relatively soon,” he added.

The Iranian security source rejected US claims that nuclear activities were taking place at the mountain complex.

Addressing the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran declared closed over the weekend, the source said Tehran would “not back down from defending the rights of the Iranian people.”

The source added that any US decision concerning Pickaxe Mountain would make “no difference to Iran’s implementation of its arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz.”