Ah, the smell of sweet Bullshit…just ask Trump, he knows all about it

Here is the breakdown of what happened regarding the recent pause in strikes and the targeted sites in Iran.

Why the U.S. Paused Strikes on Iran

The operational pause in the bombing campaign came following direct assessments from top military leaders and diplomatic advisers:

1. Exhaustion of Target Lists: Senior military commanders, including regional CENTCOM leadership, reported to President Trump that the military had largely exhausted its primary list of high-value targets within Iran, meaning continued strikes yielded diminishing military return.
2. Munitions Stockpiles: Officials expressed growing concern over the depletion of precision air-defense interceptors and specialized strike munitions, making an operational pause necessary to manage U.S. military inventory.
3. Diplomatic Opening: U.N. and administration officials indicated that the pause was intended to create temporary “negotiating space” while regional intermediaries (such as Oman) attempted to open back-channel communications regarding the Strait of Hormuz and regional stability.

The 30,000 lb Bomb & “Pickaxe Mountain”

There is an important distinction between the sites that were hit and the site in question:

• What was hit: The U.S. military previously used 30,000 lb GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker-buster bombs dropped from B-2 Spirit stealth bombers against Iran’s heavily fortified underground nuclear facilities at Fordow and Natanz.
• Pickaxe Mountain (Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La): Often referred to in news reports as “Pickaxe Mountain” (or phonetically as “Picked Mountain”), this site lies near Natanz. It is a massive volcanic formation under which Iran has been excavating deep tunnels.
• Was it hit? No. While President Trump publicly mentioned Pickaxe Mountain as a potential target, weapons experts and satellite monitoring confirm that Pickaxe Mountain itself has not been struck by 30,000 lb bunker busters. Geologists and military analysts note that Pickaxe Mountain is reinforced by dense volcanic rock (andesite) over 300 feet deep, making it largely impenetrable to standard bunker-buster munitions.

Summary: The pause in airstrikes was driven by military advice regarding depleted target lists and munitions stocks. The 30,000 lb GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs were deployed against the Fordow and Natanz sites, but not Pickaxe Mountain. Soon, Trump will be forced to use Nuclear Weapons…boy, is Tehran gonna enjoy that or what?