US could target Iran's nuclear site 'very soon': Donald Trump
What's the story
United States President Donald Trump has warned that the US could target Iran's underground nuclear site, known as Pickaxe Mountain, "very soon." The warning comes after recent US strikes against Iranian military targets. Speaking at the Oval Office, Trump defended a months-long military campaign against Iran to stop it from developing a nuclear weapon. "Iran will not have a nuclear weapon because if they did, you probably wouldn't be standing here very long," he added.
Surveillance details
US closely monitoring movements at Iranian nuclear site
Trump said, "We know everybody that's moving at Pickaxe; we know everybody that's moving everywhere all over Iran. And if anything goes bad, we hit them; we hit them hard."
The site is near Iran's damaged Natanz uranium-enrichment facility and is said to be heavily fortified with two deeply buried tunnel systems.
Israeli intelligence believes Iran has moved thousands of centrifuges to this site, making it more resistant to conventional aerial bombardment.
Intervention impact
Trump says US intervention prevented larger regional conflict
Trump also claimed that US military intervention has averted a larger regional conflict.
He said without American action, the world would have faced more serious threats.
"If we didn't go in there, you wouldn't have Israel right now, you wouldn't have the Middle East, and they probably would go at European cities and our cities next," he said.
The comments come after US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed strikes against Iranian military targets associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Targeted strikes
CENTCOM strikes targeted air-defense installations, radar systems
CENTCOM said operations targeted air-defense installations, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities, and communications sites.
These strikes followed what CENTCOM called recent "attempted attacks" by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and US service members.
Trump claimed American forces destroyed sophisticated radar installations on two occasions, leading Iran to become reluctant to deploy them due to repeated US attacks.
Retaliation threat
Iran condemns strikes as violation of sovereignty
Iran has condemned the latest US strikes as a violation of its sovereignty and targeting non-military infrastructure.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Iranian armed forces had responded with "crushing defensive strikes" against US military bases in West Asia.
These bases were deemed by Tehran as points for American attacks.
In related news, five civilians died in Sirik County, Iran, after a powerful explosion, allegedly a US strike, ripped through a traditional family wedding ceremony on September 1.