Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to brief US President Donald Trump about Iran's actions in Pickaxe Mountain and the efforts by the regime to re-establish its nuclear program in the area, the New York Post reported on Monday, citing an Israeli source.
According to the report, Netanyahu is expected to show Trump that the Iranian regime is lying about its interest in pursuing a diplomatic solution to the conflict, with the key proof being the recent movement of its nuclear infrastructure to the Pickaxe Mountain.
The movements at this site were first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which said that Israel uncovered proof that Iran moved centrifuges to the mountain complex shortly after the US and the regime agreed on their Memorandum of Understanding.
The complex, which the regime began secretly constructing in 2020, is located 1.5 kilometers south of Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, which was struck several times during the last Iran war.
Trump's change of heart with Pickaxe Mountain
While Trump previously stated that Pickaxe Mountain was left untouched during the war due to insufficient proof that the regime was using it to develop its nuclear program, in a meeting last week with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, he stated that the US would be hitting the site "pretty soon."
He also said that Tehran was “desperate” to hold talks, warning that it had “not seen anything yet.”
Earlier, on July 13, Trump also hinted at the possibility of attacking the complex. "We're going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ready," the president said during an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show.
But later on, he also claimed that the US has no intelligence indicating any activity in the complex or that the centrifuges were transported there.
Netanyahu did not offer intelligence, public diplomacy head says
Following the meeting between Netanyahu and Trump, Head of the Israeli Public Diplomacy Directorate Tzipi Hotovely denied all reports that Netanyahu offered intelligence on Pickaxe Mountain.
"The issue of Pickaxe Mountain did not come up. Reports claiming Israel arrived with intelligence on the matter are fake," she said.