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President Donald Trump told Hugh Hewitt on the radio that he will insist the IAEA get inside the deeply buried Pickaxe Mountain complex before the United States signs any new deal with Iran — and he warned bluntly that if diplomacy fails, “We’re going to take out Pickaxe Mountain.” Those on-air lines are the new development that matters: a clear White House demand for IAEA inspectors and a public readiness to use force if Tehran refuses to comply.
Trump’s demand: IAEA inspectors first, or no deal
On the Hugh Hewitt program, President Donald Trump was plainspoken: no more deals until International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors can access Pickaxe Mountain’s tunnels. He repeated a familiar refrain about Iran breaking agreements and called the regime “extremely unreliable.” Then he added what some will call dramatic rhetoric and others will call straightforward deterrence: “We’re going to take out Pickaxe Mountain.” That line is the news peg. It signals a White House posture that ties any diplomatic progress to verifiable inspections by the IAEA.
What Pickaxe Mountain really is
Pickaxe Mountain is not a movie set. Technical analysts using commercial satellite imagery have long identified the site as a deeply buried, hardened tunnel complex near Iran’s known nuclear infrastructure. Think of it as a giant underground workshop that has never been opened up to outside inspectors. Experts at respected centers have documented construction, fortified portals, and activity that make it a natural focus for both inspectors and military planners. The hard truth: this is a tough target to inspect and a tough target to strike.
IAEA’s role and the MoU test
The IAEA, led by Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, is the agency the president named as the verifier. The practical path forward is simple: let the IAEA into the tunnels and let inspectors confirm what’s there. That is also the diplomatic demand inside the Islamabad/Geneva memorandum-of-understanding that opened a 60-day negotiation window. President Trump called that MoU a test — and said Iran failed parts of it. If the regime won’t allow the IAEA in, the U.S. faces a choice between endless suspicious silence and decisive action.
Military reality and political common sense
Let’s not pretend a tunnel complex is easily erased by a press release. Imagery analysts warn Pickaxe Mountain is buried and hardened; conventional bunker-busters may struggle, and any strike carries risks and political consequences. But playing tough publicly has value. It backs up diplomacy with credible force and forces partners and adversaries to take verification seriously. Conservatives should want inspectors in, teeth behind diplomacy, and a White House willing to use all tools to prevent an Iranian bomb. That’s deterrence, not saber-rattling for its own sake.
Bottom line: President Trump’s statements on Hugh Hewitt push the ball into Tehran’s court and the IAEA’s hands. Let the inspectors in, or be prepared for consequences. The American public deserves clear answers from the White House about what comes next — and Iran deserves no mystery about whether deals will be honored. If Iran wants a deal, it should welcome an inspection; if it prefers secrets, the president has told us plainly how he plans to respond.
