Trump threatens Iran with escalation, including strikes on civilian and nuclear infrastructure

Satellite image showing an overview of the tunnel complex beneath Kolang mountain (also called the mountain of the pickaxe), near Natanz, Iran, on June 30, 2026 (image provided by the US company Vantor). VANTOR/AFP The tragic upheavals of the war in Iran have laid bare Donald Trump's unique approach to diplomacy. At the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on June 17, just as a memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington was finalized to end the fighting, the US president told journalists that ensuring the theocratic regime's long-term commitment never to acquire nuclear weapons would not require sophisticated monitoring tools. Instead, he offered a more radical option: At the slightest suspicious move, he threatened to bomb them, raising the specter of an endless war. One month later, the memorandum of understanding Trump described as "very strong" lies in ruins. The Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed, firefights have multiplied and, according to Israeli intelligence, thousands of centrifuges used for uranium enrichment have been quietly buried by Iran under Kolang mountain ("the mountain of the pickaxe") in the country's center in the fall of 2025. Disregarding any military secrecy, Trump said on Tuesday, July 21, "We'll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily," during a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House, reiterating the principle he outlined in Evian. You have 79.99% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.