Iran Conflict: What is ‘Peak X Mountain’ and Why Did Trump Threaten to Bomb It?
Image Source, Vantor
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran’s suspected underground nuclear site known as ‘Peak X Mountain’. Recent satellite images show ongoing construction activities at this location.
‘Peak X Mountain’ is one of the few Iranian nuclear program sites not yet targeted by the US. There have been unconfirmed reports that Iran stores enriched uranium there, which can be further processed into nuclear weapons material.
“We will soon strike that site, and it will be very powerful,” Trump told reporters on July 21.
A week later, on July 28, he repeated, “I know exactly what’s going on at Peak X Mountain. It’s not a big problem. We have already eliminated their nuclear centers, and if no agreement is reached, Peak X will have to be destroyed as well.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei stated on July 22 that there is no nuclear activity at Peak X. He described the US threat as “an excuse for attack, destruction, and sabotage.”
Experts analyzed satellite imagery of the area and prepared reports on site activities and potential impacts of an attack.
What Do We Know About ‘Peak X Mountain’?
‘Peak X Mountain’ is also known as ‘Kuh-e-Kolang’. It is located just south of Iran’s largest nuclear processing site, Natanz. The US and Israel bombed Natanz in 2025 and 2026.
The site is believed to have deeply embedded underground structures, but details of its exact purpose remain secret, leaving much to speculation about its role in Iran’s nuclear program.
Tehran has previously hinted that the site might serve as a backup for housing advanced centrifuges after damage to buildings at Natanz.
In 2020, former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi mentioned plans for a “modern, large, and comprehensive facility” inside a mountain near Natanz without specifically naming Peak X Mountain.
Centrifuges enrich uranium, which can be used for civilian reactor fuel or, if purified to 90 percent or more, for nuclear weapons.
Image Source, Reuters
An animated graphic based on satellite images shows the security perimeter and four tunnel entrances at Peak X Mountain – two facing west and two east. After the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran in 2025, substantial security walls were erected around the site.
Satellite images from June 30, 2026, show heavy construction equipment at the west tunnel entrance, with ongoing development of access routes and tunnel entrances visible in recent photos.
According to analysis by the US Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), Iran has already closed the two eastern tunnel entrances.
“There has been continuous construction activity in the past year,” says Spencer Faragasso from ISIS.
“Iran is conducting internal excavation and implementing other measures to enhance protection against aerial attacks.”
Can a Bomb Attack Destroy Peak X Mountain?
Image Source, US Air Force
The Peak X Mountain site may have been designed to withstand aerial bombings. Experts suggest its main structure lies about 100 meters underground, significantly deeper than other Iranian nuclear sites such as Fordow and Natanz.
The US dropped bunker-buster bombs on Fordow and Natanz last year, weapons known to be effective against underground facilities.
The US GBU-57 bunker-buster bomb weighs approximately 13,000 kilograms and can penetrate approximately 18 meters of concrete or 61 meters of earth before detonating.
However, experts caution that even with such bombs, completely destroying Peak X Mountain would be very challenging.
“Due to its deep and obscured underground structures, it is extremely difficult to fully demolish the entire facility,” says Arman Mahmoudian, a researcher at the University of South Florida.
Yet, Mahmoudian adds that a US attack could target tunnel entrances, communication systems, access routes, and supporting infrastructure to disrupt operations, although significant underground sections would likely remain intact.
Faragasso notes that air shafts designed for ventilation could allow aerial weapons to reach deep into the complex.
What Do We Know About What Lies Beneath the Mountain?
The internal contents of the mountain remain publicly unknown, and it is unclear if the facility is fully operational.
Tehran has so far refused to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect Peak X Mountain.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated in March that Iran plans to conduct nuclear activities at the site.
“This could be their most organized plan to keep their most sensitive facilities underground,” Grossi remarked.
The IAEA estimated that Iran possessed about 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to nearly 60 percent purity in 2025.
There are unconfirmed claims that some stockpiles have been relocated to Peak X Mountain. It is believed that centrifuges undamaged in attacks on Natanz or Fordow may have been moved there.
“Storing valuable equipment like uranium gas centrifuges inside tunnels makes sense,” Faragasso says, “we have repeatedly observed truck movements indicating storage materials are being held there.”
David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security in the US expresses concern that even if the facility is inactive now, it could become a nuclear weapons-grade uranium processing center in the future.
“Peak X Mountain poses a future risk of becoming a facility producing weapons-grade uranium,” he said.
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