President Donald Trump publicly pushed back against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday after reports indicated the Israeli leader planned to present evidence that Iran is pursuing nuclear technology at its underground Pickaxe Mountain facility during a meeting at the White House.
Speaking on Fox & Friends ahead of his Oval Office meeting with Netanyahu, Trump suggested he was already fully aware of developments at the site and questioned why the Israeli prime minister had chosen to discuss the matter publicly.
“Well, I don’t need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi is telling me that because he wants me to stay involved,” Trump said when asked about reports that Netanyahu intended to raise concerns about Pickaxe Mountain.
The president said the United States has a clear understanding of what is happening at the facility.
“We know exactly what’s going on. But no, I heard Bibi announce that,” Trump said. “I said, ‘Why don’t you just tell it to me? Why do you have to announce it to the world?’”
Trump added that he was not overly concerned about the site at the moment but warned that military action could be taken if negotiations fail.
“I know exactly what’s going on at Pickaxe. It’s not a big problem. We took out their nuclear site, and we’ll have to take out Pickaxe if we don’t make a deal,” the president said, noting that the United States is using satellite technology to monitor the location, which sits about 120 miles south of Tehran.
According to the report, Israeli intelligence indicates Iran has transferred nuclear centrifuges to the complex, located roughly 300 feet beneath Kolang Mountain near the Natanz nuclear facility, which was bombed by the United States in June 2025.
Netanyahu is also expected to present evidence that Iran has been rebuilding its missile capabilities following joint attacks carried out against the Islamic Republic earlier this year. The expected briefing comes amid Israeli concerns that Iran has not been negotiating with the United States in good faith.
Last week, Trump was reportedly considering a major escalation in the military campaign against Iran after fighting resumed earlier this month for nearly two weeks following repeated Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The president halted the strikes on July 24 after negotiations began again.
Although Iran initially denied holding direct talks with the United States, Trump has maintained that discussions are taking place.
“For some reason, we can be in the midst of a beautiful discussion, and they’ll come out and say ‘We’re not talking or we didn’t discuss nuclear.’ Well, that’s all we discussed because they’ll never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “They understand that, and we have had some very good talks.”
Trump also addressed the possibility of future military action if negotiations fail but indicated he is reluctant to target civilian infrastructure despite previous threats involving bridges and power plants.
“If they don’t make a deal, then I go back, and I finish the job. But that’s going to take them forever to rebuild,” Trump said. “I could take out most of their bridges in less than an hour, less than an hour.”
He added that destroying key infrastructure would have devastating consequences for the country and expressed concern about harming civilians.
“It really decimates a country. So those are the big things. And then there’s always the desalination plants, and who am I hurting there? I’m hurting the people, so I’m not looking to do that. I just want, very simply, they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump’s remarks directed at Netanyahu come as tensions between the two leaders have grown over Iran and other issues in the Middle East. Netanyahu was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to attend a memorial service for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
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