Trump Threatens Strike on Deep Underground Iranian Nuclear Site at Mount Koucheh

US President Donald Trump threatened on July 13, 2026, that the United States might soon strike the mysterious Iranian nuclear site located deep underground at Mount Koucheh, near the Natanz enrichment facility. Trump described the site as a "possible target for a big, beautiful strike," emphasizing that US surveillance capabilities, including space-based assets, monitor the location closely.

Mount Koucheh is a secretive nuclear complex buried up to 600 meters inside granite rock, making it more deeply embedded than the Fordow facility, which was also targeted in previous US and Israeli operations. Western intelligence agencies suspect the site is used for uranium enrichment, although Iran claims it is a centrifuge manufacturing plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has never inspected Mount Koucheh, as Iran has not declared it as a nuclear enrichment site.

Recent satellite imagery analyzed by the Institute for Science and International Security indicates ongoing construction and tunnel activity at Mount Koucheh, despite Iran's June 17, 2026 memorandum of understanding with the US to maintain the status quo in its nuclear program. The site has been heavily fortified, with efforts to secure tunnel entrances against potential airstrikes. Meanwhile, other major Iranian nuclear sites such as Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan show little significant activity following previous attacks.

Iran suspended implementation of the IAEA's Additional Protocol in 2021, limiting international inspections. Western governments and experts have long expressed concern that Mount Koucheh's depth and design could enable sensitive nuclear work shielded from attack, especially as other key facilities have been damaged or destroyed. Trump's explicit mention of the site marks a rare public acknowledgment of this covert installation and signals possible imminent military action.