President Donald Trump said Tuesday the United States will strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site "probably pretty soon," putting a specific target and a rough timetable on a threat that had until now been spoken about in broader terms. War Secretary Pete Hegseth then told lawmakers the U.S. military has the capability to hit the underground facility.
The warning landed on a day when three explosive-laden drones were shot down near the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, adding another flashpoint to a region already under strain. U.S. Central Command had carried out its latest wave of strikes against Iranian military targets at 9 p.m. ET on Monday, July 20, and the new comments suggested that campaign could widen further.
Hegseth made his remarks while testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee, where Sen. Dick Durbin pressed him to explain a $37.5 billion estimate for the war in Iran and to say what period it covered. Hegseth replied that the figure includes current operational costs and projected expenses through Sept. 30, a reminder that the financial toll is climbing alongside the military one.
The administration is also trying to manage other pressure points at the same time. Trump said the United States would "just have to take care of business" if the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen imposed a blockade on the Red Sea, even as the U.S. is involved in mediating talks between Israel and Lebanon. That leaves Washington threatening escalation in one lane while trying to steady another, a difficult balance to sustain if Pickaxe Mountain becomes the next target.
What remains unclear is what, exactly, sits inside Pickaxe Mountain and how far the U.S. is prepared to go if the site is struck. For now, Trump's words point to a narrower and more immediate threat than the one he has used before, and the next move appears to be his.
