This handout satellite image courtesy of Vantor shows a closer view of destroyed vehicles at the Pickaxe Mountain tunnel complex adjacent to the Natanz Nuclear Facility near Natanz, Isfahan province, in central Iran on March 7, 2026. (PHOTO/SATELLITE IMAGE ©2026 VANTOR/AFP)
WASHINGTON/ANKARA – US President Donald Trump said Friday that the US military may soon strike Iran‘s Pickaxe Mountain – a fortified site near Iran’s Natanz enrichment facility – while trying to downplay the conflict with Iran as “small potatoes.”
“We may hit Pickaxe very soon,” Trump told reporters at the White House, referring to the underground facility where Washington says Iran has moved some of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
He tried to downplay the US-Iran conflict, arguing that it was not a war. “It’s a military conflict, but it’s very intermittent,” Trump said, though he has repeatedly described the conflict as a “war” while avoiding the term at times.
“I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing.”
“I would say that it’s intermittent. You know, we do intermittent strikes,” said the US leader. “There’s a lot of truth that we’re not fighting right now. There’s no fighting.”
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US forces targeted nearly 60 Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz this week, including air defense sites, radar systems, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities, CNN reported.
US President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One at Morristown Airport, Sept 4, 2026, in Morristown, New Jersey. (PHOTO/AP)
On Tuesday night, a US strike hit a wedding party in Sirik County in Hormozgan province, killing at least five people and injuring over 60 others, Iranian state media reported.
Trump, on Wednesday, threatened to launch more strikes on Iran “anytime we want.”
The United States and Israel launched massive military attacks on Iran on Feb 28, marking the start of a conflict that has killed thousands of people.
Turkish efforts to resolve crisis on
Turkiye is continuing diplomatic efforts to help peacefully resolve tensions between Iran and the US, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a phone call with United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Friday.
According to Turkiye’s Presidential Directorate of Communications, Erdogan said that Türkiye is working to end the US-Iran tensions while rejecting attacks against countries in the region.
He also reaffirmed Turkiye’s commitment to deepening its relations with the UAE, adding that cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the defense industry and economy, will continue to strengthen.