By Steve Holland and Kanishka Singh
DALLAS/WASHINGTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States may hit Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, urging Tehran to be cautious.
“We notice there’s a little activity at Pickaxe. I would advise Iran not to get cute because we will have to hit them very hard,” Trump said in a speech at the midterm Republican convention.
Pickaxe Mountain, located near Iran’s heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility, is a fortified site with two deeply buried tunnel complexes.
Trump has been threatening strikes on Pickaxe Mountain since at least mid-July.
The rise in oil and gas prices due to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has become a major issue for Trump and his Republican Party in the lead-up to the midterm U.S. elections in November.
The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host U.S. bases. U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.
Trump also said he thought the war was going to end immediately after the midterms, alleging Tehran was trying to influence the elections that will determine whether the Republicans retain control of Congress.
Pickaxe Mountain lies 220 km (140 miles) south of Tehran and 2 km from the Natanz complex.
The Natanz site, where two of Iran’s uranium enrichment plants were located, was struck in March as part of the U.S.-Israeli military attacks on Iran. Israel also hit Natanz during last year’s 12-day Israel-Iran war.
The tunnel facility under construction at Pickaxe Mountain was not targeted in either of those wars, according to the Institute for Science and International Security, a U.S.-based think tank focused on nuclear non-proliferation.
Trump has cited weakening Iran’s nuclear capabilities as one of his war objectives. Iran does not have nuclear weapons and says its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful purposes. The U.S. is a nuclear power. Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed country in the Middle East but has not confirmed or denied it publicly.
(Reporting by Steve Holland in Dallas and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Michelle Nichols and Kate Mayberry)
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