分类： politics

Escalating tensions in the Middle East have taken a sharp turn as former U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly threatened a forthcoming military strike on Pickaxe Mountain, a heavily fortified underground nuclear facility that lies at the heart of fresh Israeli claims about Iran’s contested nuclear program. Speaking on Tuesday, amid ongoing U.S. military operations targeting Iranian assets, Trump stated bluntly: “We’ll be hitting that area very probably pretty soon. And there’s not a thing they can do about it.”

In response to the threat, Tehran has issued a stern warning that any attack on its sovereign nuclear facilities will trigger a broadening of the ongoing regional conflict, raising fears of a wider war that could engulf the entire Middle East. The core of the current dispute centers on Israeli allegations that Iran relocated enriched uranium stocks and advanced centrifuges to the Pickaxe Mountain facility after earlier joint U.S.-Israeli strikes damaged other key Iranian nuclear sites. Notably, Israel has yet to release any verifiable evidence to support these claims, and Trump himself has openly acknowledged that U.S. intelligence agencies cannot confirm Jerusalem’s assertion.

Located just 1.6 kilometers south of the Natanz uranium enrichment complex in central Iran – a site that was heavily bombed by U.S. and Israeli forces in June 2025 – Pickaxe Mountain is purpose-built to withstand military attack. Carved at least 100 meters beneath the surface of Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, a mountain named for the Persian word for “pickaxe”, the facility is nearly impervious to conventional air strikes and would pose enormous challenges to any ground incursion. Construction of the site first began in 2020, following a damaging explosion at a centrifuge assembly workshop within the original Natanz complex. Iran formally notified the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the facility was intended to manufacture centrifuges for uranium enrichment operations.

Analysis of satellite imagery conducted by the Institute for Science and International Security reveals an extensive network of tunnels, a broad heavily guarded security perimeter, and blast-resistant concrete-reinforced entrances designed to survive heavy air bombardment. As of current reporting, construction work remains ongoing, and no public evidence has emerged to confirm that the complex has begun full operations. Satellite imagery captured by Vantor on June 21, 2026, shows visible vehicle activity at the western entrance of the tunnel complex, confirming that work at the site has accelerated dramatically in the year following the June 2025 U.S.-Israeli attacks on Natanz and other Iranian nuclear sites.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies has outlined two leading explanations for the increased activity at Pickaxe Mountain: Iran may be accelerating completion of the declared centrifuge assembly plant it initially announced, or it has simply moved critical nuclear operations to the secured underground site after other facilities were damaged in the earlier bombings.

A key unresolved question hangs over the fact that the U.S. and Israel chose not to target Pickaxe Mountain during their 12-day offensive against Iranian nuclear infrastructure in 2025, raising doubts about the site’s purported strategic importance to Iran’s program at that time. During that earlier campaign, Israel first struck Iran’s core nuclear sites at Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, killing multiple civilian Iranian nuclear scientists, before the U.S. joined the conflict, launching heavier bombing raids on the same three targets. Trump initially claimed the attacks had completely “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, but subsequent assessments from U.S. and United Nations experts found that while the strikes caused extensive damage, significant portions of Iran’s nuclear program survived.

Since the 2025 offensive, Washington and Jerusalem have focused intense pressure on Iran over its existing stockpile of nearly 450 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, demanding that Tehran either surrender the material or permanently dispose of it. When pressed by reporters on whether Iran had indeed moved advanced centrifuges to Pickaxe Mountain, Trump contradicted Israel’s unsubstantiated claims, admitting: “We don’t have it on record.”

Iran has repeatedly denied conducting any undeclared nuclear activities at the Pickaxe Mountain site. The Iranian government maintains that its entire nuclear program is oriented toward peaceful civilian energy goals, and says it plans to expand its nuclear power fleet to meet growing domestic electricity demand, freeing up more of its oil reserves for export to global markets. The latest threat of a new strike has sent shockwaves through the international community, with experts warning that further escalation could have catastrophic consequences for global energy security and regional stability.

Two leading U.S. news outlets revealed Wednesday that former President Donald Trump has given formal approval to a three-decade civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, a deal that will grant Riyadh access to cutting-edge U.S. reactor technology despite widespread warnings that it could ignite a dangerous nuclear arms race across the Middle East with Iran.

According to reports from both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, Trump’s pending official signature on the dual civil nuclear and security pact will clear the way for the proposal to move to the U.S. Congress for mandatory formal review. The accord is scheduled to be finalized this week by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, two officials who first held high-level talks on the framework back in April 2025, the Journal added.

If the agreement receives final congressional approval, it will open the door for U.S. nuclear firms to earn tens of billions of dollars in revenue from constructing Saudi Arabia’s first full civilian nuclear infrastructure. At the same time, it has reignited a decades-long, bitter debate among U.S. legislators over the severe risks of nuclear proliferation spreading across the Middle East.

The Trump administration has defended the agreement, arguing that close U.S. oversight will guarantee that Riyadh’s civilian nuclear program is never diverted to develop nuclear weapons. But critics point out that the deal fails to address core long-standing nonproliferation concerns that have divided policymakers for years. Lawmakers seeking to block the pact also face steep procedural obstacles: to override a guaranteed presidential veto, opponents would need to secure a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers of Congress, a high bar that is widely seen as difficult to reach.

The most significant proliferation risk stems from the deal’s framework that paves the way for Saudi Arabia to develop domestic uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing capabilities – the two core processes required to produce weapons-grade material for nuclear bombs. Beyond supplying initial reactors and related technology, the agreement mandates that U.S. firms conduct a two-year feasibility study to assess whether domestic uranium enrichment in Saudi Arabia is practical. If the study concludes the project is viable, U.S. companies will build and operate the enrichment facility under a so-called “black box” model designed to keep all sensitive nuclear technology restricted from Saudi access. If the U.S. rejects moving forward with enrichment, Riyadh would be blocked from developing domestic enrichment capabilities for a 10-year period.

Notably, the accord bypasses the enhanced safeguards protocol overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog that sets the global baseline for nonproliferation monitoring. Instead, all inspection and oversight responsibilities will be managed through a private bilateral agreement exclusively between Washington and Riyadh. Unlike the United Arab Emirates, which previously committed to the international “gold standard” nonproliferation pledge that bans nations from enriching uranium or reprocessing spent fuel on their own territory, Saudi Arabia has repeatedly refused to adopt that requirement. A congressional source who spoke with CNN also confirmed that early closed-door briefings on the deal outlined a special provision that grants Riyadh limited permission to carry out domestic fuel enrichment and reprocessing activities.

Talks over a U.S.-Saudi nuclear accord first launched during Trump’s first presidential term, and the deal has renewed intense scrutiny over the role played by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who served as a senior White House adviser during that first term. A 2019 investigative report from House Democrats already revealed that Kushner pushed aggressively to approve nuclear technology transfers to Saudi Arabia over the explicit objections of multiple senior national security officials. This scrutiny has been amplified by questions over Kushner’s personal financial ties: Westinghouse Electric, the major U.S. nuclear services firm vying to sell reactors to Saudi Arabia, is owned by Brookfield Asset Management. That same firm orchestrated a $1.1 billion bailout for a struggling property asset owned by Kushner’s family real estate company back in 2018.

As early as 2018, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation to block any nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, but the Trump administration continued to advance negotiations behind the scenes. That same year, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made international headlines when he stated publicly that if Iran successfully developed a nuclear bomb, “we will follow suit as soon as possible”. During initial negotiations, Saudi negotiators also made clear to the Trump administration that Riyadh would reject any deal that granted UN nuclear inspectors unfettered access to search for covert nuclear weapons activity across the kingdom.

In a major shift from the previous Biden administration’s policy, Trump has dropped the requirement that tied U.S.-Saudi nuclear cooperation to Riyadh completing a full normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel, effectively decoupling the nuclear deal from the Abraham Accords framework. The final agreement, however, lays bare a stark contradiction in U.S. foreign policy: Washington continues to pressure Iran to roll back its expanding nuclear program, while at the same time enabling Saudi Arabia to build out its own civilian nuclear infrastructure with pathways to weapons-capable technology.

A high-stakes diplomatic and legal dispute has erupted over the expected September visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to New York City, after New York’s mayor publicly called on the U.S. federal government to enforce an outstanding International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against the Israeli leader.

Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, laid out his position in a viral two-minute social media video posted Tuesday, just hours after former U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Netanyahu would “not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America”. The video, posted to X on July 22, 2026, has already amassed more than 30 million views.

In the clip, Mamdani made blunt allegations against Netanyahu, calling him a war crime suspect and the mastermind of what he described as a devastating genocide against the Palestinian people. He cited multiple humanitarian and human rights claims to back his stance: pointing to soaring rates of Palestinian amputees in the Gaza Strip, referencing a United Nations report that alleged Israeli forces deliberately targeted and killed Palestinian children, and claiming the prime minister is responsible for the deaths of over 73,000 people and the maiming of tens of thousands of children. Mamdani also added that Netanyahu, who Mamdani says has ordered military strikes in six countries since 2023, is also responsible for the killings of international aid workers and journalists reporting on the conflict.

Mamdani acknowledged that the ICC’s 2024 arrest warrant against Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is legally justified, but confirmed that his administration has reviewed all possible legal pathways and confirmed New York City lacks independent authority to execute the warrant. He clarified that after active discussions with New York’s law department, it remains unclear whether the city can order the New York City Police Department to detain a sitting foreign leader, so the power to act rests solely with the federal government.

“My administration has reviewed every avenue available under applicable law to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here. It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant. The federal government, however, does, and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant,” Mamdani said in the video.

Netanyahu is scheduled to travel to New York this coming September to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly, a regular high-level diplomatic gathering hosted by the city. The ICC issued the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in November 2024, charging both with war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Gaza starting in October 2023. The warrants marked a historic first for the 24-year-old court, as it was the first time ICC judges issued arrest warrants for senior officials allied with Western powers.

Since the warrants were issued, the ICC has faced intense backlash, including widespread criticism, threats, and punitive measures from the United States — Israel’s closest ally. The U.S. and Israel are not signatories to the Rome Statute, the international treaty that established the ICC. All 125 countries that are party to the statute, including every member of the European Union, hold a legal obligation to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant and turn them over to the court for prosecution. However, the ICC itself has no independent enforcement powers to carry out arrest warrants, and the court cannot conduct a trial in absentia.

Mamdani’s call to action has drawn responses from pro-Palestine activists and commentators, who have pushed the mayor to go beyond rhetoric and take tangible, within-authority actions to oppose what they describe as complicity in Israeli crimes.

Prominent Palestinian writer and activist Mohammed el-Kurd argued that Mamdani could use his municipal platform to push for action against U.S.-based groups that fund Israeli settlement activity. “If Mamdani wants to take tangible action within the bounds of his office, he could easily urge Attorney General and other relevant authorities to go after New York-registered tax-exempt organizations that funnel tens of millions of US dollars into Israeli settler expansion and violence every year,” el-Kurd noted.

Another activist, Nerdeen Kiswani, said the city’s treatment of Netanyahu’s visit must match Mamdani’s rhetoric, to make clear the Israeli leader is not welcome in New York. “Don’t roll out the red carpet for a wanted war criminal. Don’t use the NYPD to insulate him from public outrage. Don’t suppress the New Yorkers who take to the streets demanding accountability,” Kiswani wrote on X. “If Netanyahu is truly not welcome in New York City, that principle should be reflected in how the city treats his visit, not just in rhetoric.”

In a move that continues the policy set by his predecessor Keir Starmer, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has formally approved the United States’ use of several UK military bases to carry out what the government characterizes as “defensive” air strikes against Iran, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday.

The decision traces back to a high-level meeting convened by Starmer this past Friday, where senior cabinet ministers and national security officials reached a provisional agreement to maintain access for US aircraft at two key facilities: the Indian Ocean base at Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford, a major air force installation in Gloucestershire. Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the meeting shared details with Bloomberg on condition of anonymity.

After being fully briefed on the meeting’s outcome and the proposed policy, Burnham endorsed the arrangement, confirming he intends to uphold Starmer’s framework for the duration of the US’s expanded military operations against Iranian targets.

The approval comes as US air bombardment of Iranian targets has entered its 11th consecutive night. Iranian state media has reported large explosions across multiple population centers, including the cities of Bushehr, Tabriz, Chabahar, as well as areas in the western provinces of Kurdistan and Ilam. US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, has stated the strikes are targeting Iranian operations centers, logistics hubs, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars and drone storage sites.

Tehran has responded to the ongoing US attacks with retaliatory strikes targeting US-allied nations in the region, including Jordan, Bahrain, Syria and Kuwait.

Burnham’s green light for continued base access is already expected to trigger significant political and public pushback in the UK. Human rights organizations have previously warned that granting the US permission to launch strikes from British territory could violate longstanding international law standards.

Starmer first outlined his original policy in early March, framing the base access as exclusively for defensive operations. He later expanded the agreement to allow US strikes launched from UK bases to target Iranian sites connected to activity around the Strait of Hormuz, justifying the move under the legal framework of “collective self-defense” for US-aligned Gulf states.

Yasmine Ahmed, UK director at Human Rights Watch, issued a formal letter to the prime minister pointing out that the British government’s legal justification for the policy fails to address core obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL). Ahmed referenced multiple high-profile incidents that have raised questions about US compliance with IHL, most notably a February 28 air strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school in Minab, a southern Iranian city, carried out at the opening of the US-Israeli joint assault. The attack killed more than 150 people, the vast majority of them children, and a preliminary Pentagon investigation confirmed the US military was responsible for the incident.

Burnham’s confirmation of the policy comes just days after he held a telephone conversation with former US President Donald Trump. A public readout from the UK prime minister’s office stated that during the call, Burnham “outlined the UK’s commitment to securing the movement of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.” In a post to his Truth Social platform following the call, Trump wrote that the discussion covered topics including North Sea oil, bilateral trade, the US-UK military alliance, and demining operations in the Strait of Hormuz, noting that the talks “went very well.”

Even as relentless downpours swept through India’s capital city of New Delhi overnight, thousands of supporters affiliated with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) have refused to abandon their demonstration, vowing that their push for change retains its full momentum. The unexpected heavy rainfall, which left many parts of the city waterlogged and disrupted routine daily life across the national capital, created significant challenges for protesters gathered at key protest sites across the city. Despite soaked clothing, uneven, muddy ground, and logistical hurdles that come with unseasonable heavy rain, the crowd has remained steadfast, choosing to continue their demonstration rather than stand down. Protesters and organizers with the movement have told reporters that the core momentum of their protest remains unbroken, with the widespread turnout through the storm serving as a demonstration of the depth of commitment among the movement’s supporters. The ongoing protest in the heart of India’s capital continues to draw attention to the group’s policy and political demands, as observers across the country monitor how the demonstration evolves in the coming days.