Reuters, on Iran, 16 October 2026

6.0out of 10Serious

Trump says US may need to strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain

Tap a highlight to see why it matters.2 findings

US President Donald Trump speaks as he hosts a Rose Garden lunch at the White House in Washington, DC, US, October 15, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said the US may have to ​target Pickaxe Mountain , a site linked to Iran's nuclear ‌program, as he aims to ensure Tehran does not get a nuclear weapon.In an interview with Newsmax on Thursday night, Trump ​also said he would not use a nuclear ​weapon in the war on Iran, which began ⁠in February with US-Israeli strikes. * Trump said the US ​wanted to make sure Iran will never have a nuclear ​weapon "."

Sign up here. * "Their nuclear is buried under millions of tons of mountain. Now we're looking ​at Pickaxe Mountain. We may have to go there. ​We'll take a shot at that one. We'll knock it out fast," ‌Trump ⁠told the news outlet. * Pickaxe Mountain is a fortified facility buried deep underground near one of Tehran's main nuclear sites. * The US president said there was no ​need to use ​a nuclear ⁠bomb in Iran. "I wouldn't use nuclear. We don't have to." * Trump reiterated he was ​not considering using US ground troops in Iran * ​Trump ⁠did not say if he had authorized the use of GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, also known as ⁠the "mother ​of all bombs," against Iranian energy ​infrastructure and nuclear sites.

Left out here: Drops what it reported before

The article reports Trump saying "We may have to go there" and "We'll knock it out fast". It never mentions his public pledge, reported by the same reporter eight days earlier, that the US will not attack Iran before the 3 November midterm elections. Without it a reader takes the threat to Pickaxe Mountain as imminent rather than as a statement about after the elections.

How we know

He did say the MOAB bomb was not ​a nuclear bomb. (This story has been refiled to fix the formatting, with no changes to text.) Refiles to fix formatting, no changes to text Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Editing by Nick Zieminski Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Suggested Topics: World X Facebook Linkedin Email Link Purchase Licensing Rights

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What we found (2)

Reuters relays Trump's threat to strike Pickaxe Mountain and his claim that Iran would use a nuclear weapon if it had one. It never sets Iran's denial against that claim, although Reuters reported the denial twice in the previous three weeks. It also leaves out Trump's own pledge, reported by the same reporter, not to attack Iran before the 3 November midterms, so the threat reads as more immediate than his stated position.

  1. Drops what it reported before

    Serious

    “because if they had it, they would use it”

    Why this matters
    Reuters quotes Trump's claim that Iran would use a nuclear weapon if it had one. It then builds the rest of the piece on his aim of stopping Iran getting one, and gives no Iranian response anywhere.
    The impression it gives
    That Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon and that this premise for striking Pickaxe Mountain is not in dispute.
    The context
    Reuters reported earlier that Iran does not have nuclear weapons and denies it wants to develop them. It also reported that Iran's president said Tehran had agreed it is not supposed to develop them. None of this appears in this article.

    How we know

    Show it in the article

    Written straight

    Trump said the US wanted to make sure Iran never has a nuclear weapon, adding "if they had it, they would use it." Iran does not have nuclear weapons and denies it wants to develop them.

  2. Drops what it reported before

    Minor

    What is missing

    The article reports Trump saying "We may have to go there" and "We'll knock it out fast". It never mentions his public pledge, reported by the same reporter eight days earlier, that the US will not attack Iran before the 3 November midterm elections. Without it a reader takes the threat to Pickaxe Mountain as imminent rather than as a statement about after the elections.

    How we know

    Show where it belongs

How other outlets reported it

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