There appears to be no sign of peace between the United States and Iran, with the conflict intensifying by the day. Amid this, US President Donald Trump held an emergency, high-level meeting with top defence officials in the White House’s secretive “Situation Room.”
Trump has reportedly decided to strike two key locations that define Iran’s existence. The first is Kharg Island, Iran’s economic lifeline, which accounts for the bulk of the country’s oil revenue; if the US military seizes it, Iran’s economy would certainly collapse, though capturing the island would require direct war and could cause heavy US military casualties.
The US also wants to seize Iran-held islands near the Strait of Hormuz — Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb — vital to international shipping. Alongside this, the US strongly suspects Iran has built a secret underground nuclear facility beneath “Pickaxe Mountain,” where intelligence sources believe Iran has stored highly enriched uranium meant for its bomb-making program.
Washington is planning to destroy this underground base to permanently bury Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The US and Israel have already jointly struck several Iranian nuclear sites, but destroying the Pickaxe Mountain facility, buried hundreds of feet underground, is believed to be impossible with conventional missiles.