'We'll knock it out fast': Trump threatens Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site with strikes

Jerusalem Post/Middle East/Iran NewsTrump did not confirm previous reports that the US would use a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB), colloquially known as the "mother of all bombs," to strike Iran.Follow us on GoogleUS President Donald Trump speaks with media before boarding Marine One as he travels to Grand Island, Nebraska, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, US, October 5, 2026. (photo credit: REUTERS/Eric Lee)OCTOBER 16, 2026 08:59The United States is looking at Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site as a possible target for a future strike, US President Donald Trump confirmed during an interview with Newsmax on Thursday."We may have to go there," he said. "We'll take a shot at that one. We'll knock it out fast."He added that there were no plans for US ground forces to take part in such an attack, saying "No, I don't see that. I don't see that."However, Trump also did not confirm previous reports that the US would use a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB), colloquially known as the "mother of all bombs," to strike Iran.Instead, he emphasized that the MOAB was a non-nuclear weapon.This US Department of Defense (DoD) handout photo shows the Massive Ordinance Air Blast (MOAB) weapon March 11, 2003 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. (credit: DoD/Getty Images)"It's like a tiny nuclear bomb. The mother of all bombs is one big bomb, but it's not nuclear," he said.Earlier on Thursday, CNN cited multiple US officials who said that plans called for the MOAB, the largest non-nuclear weapon in the US military's arsenal, to be used against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites, including Pickaxe Mountain.Trump says US would have to return to war if it withdrew within the yearTrump also discussed the possibility of ending the war with Iran, saying that if the US withdrew within the next year, it would likely have to return again."We want to make it so that they will never have a nuclear weapon, because if they had it, they would use it, in my opinion, instantaneously," he explained.However, Trump expressed confidence that the war would be over soon.The Iran war will be over very soon. It's going to end very soon," he said, adding that Iran was currently negotiating with the US."They've asked us to please stop. And we do, because we're negotiating with them."Follow us on Google