Iran

Donald Trump has threatened to renew strikes on Iran's heavily fortified "Pickaxe Mountain" nuclear site, as the staggering human and financial toll of the five-month war between the US and Iran came into focus.

Trump said the US would target the Pickaxe Mountain area, located ⁠near Iran's ​heavily ⁠damaged Natanz uranium ⁠enrichment facility, "pretty soon."

The site – known in Iran as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La – hosts ‌two deeply buried ‌tunnel complexes that experts ⁠assess as beyond the reach of the most powerful bunker buster bombs in ‌the US arsenal.

Appearing at the Senate on Tuesday, Trump's defence secretary Pete Hegseth unraveled over questions about the growing cost of the Trump administration’s war in Iran, estimating the financial toll has now reached $37.5bn. At the same time, he suggested Trump should be praised for starting the war.

Hegseth is asking for another $67 billion from Congress to cover mounting costs for the war, among other demands.

In terms of personnel costs, US officials say at least 18 American troops have died since the beginning of the war, and more than 400 others have been injured.

Trump threatens to bomb Pickaxe Mountain. What you need to know about Iran’s secret nuclear site

Donald Trump has issued threats to bomb a secretive under-construction Iranian nuclear site buried deep under a mountain.

The site, known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, or “Pickaxe Mountain,” lies on the south side of Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment site, which was bombed by the United States during Operation Midnight Hammer in 2025's 12-day war between Iran and Israel. But Pickaxe Mountain has remained untouched as Iran continues to dig at the site.

It remains unclear just what has been placed at Pickaxe Mountain, as the United Nations' nuclear watchdog has never gained access to the site.

The threat comes as the two nations continue to exchange blows over the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday the United States is still willing to negotiate an end to the Iran crisis but claimed Tehran is not serious about talks. Rubio ⁠made his comments in a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers a day after three oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea, apparently in response to threats from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis.

Here’s all you need to know about Pickaxe Mountain:

French diplomats not ill-treated by Iranian personnel, says Tehran

Two French diplomats at the centre of a dispute between France and Iran were not ill-treated by Iranian security personnel, according to an Iranian foreign ministry official quoted by state media on Wednesday.

France has said that the diplomats in Tehran had their phones taken, were forbidden to contact the embassy and verbally intimidated, breaking international diplomatic conventions. One of the officials, the cultural attache, was hit.

The French foreign ministry on Tuesday summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires to protest the incident.

"France expects the Iranian authorities to shed light on this incident, punish the perpetrators, and ensure the security of its premises and personnel, in accordance with their international obligations," the French foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

According to Iranian Foreign Ministry official Mohammad Tanhaei, Iranian security personnel questioned two French embassy staff who held a meeting with individuals who are being investigated for security reasons.

"Security agents transferred the two individuals to the diplomatic police as soon as they realised their link to the French embassy," he was quoted as saying, adding that there was no intimidation.

France's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Watch: Trump warns Iran the US ‘has been nice’ so far in attacks as threat of full-blown war grows

Pakistan seeks $10 billion fund from US after mediating Iran talks: report

Pakistan has asked the United States for a $10 billion exchange stabilization facility, according to a source briefed on the matter, which, if approved, could provide a lifeline for the cash-strapped South Asian economy.

The request, which is being reported for the first time, follows Pakistan's role in brokering talks over the Iran war, which raised its diplomatic profile and stirred hopes that it could seek economic gains from Washington and other partners.

In the request to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Islamabad is seeking a Bilateral Exchange Stabilization Support Facility between the U.S. and the Pakistani government worth $10 billion with maturity of up to five years.

The facility, if agreed to, would bolster Pakistan's reserves, ease pressure on the rupee and reduce its reliance on multilateral financing, even as Islamabad undertakes tighter fiscal and monetary policies in line with its International Monetary Fund program.

The U.S. Treasury declined to comment on the reported request.

Iran executes man over January protests, judiciary news agency says

Iran executed a man for charges linked to protests in the January, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported on Wednesday.

Mizan identified the man as Mehdi Khaneki and said he was executed for "operational actions" that benefited Israel, the United States and hostile groups. It said he also produced and possessed weapons.

Iran renews strikes on Jordan and Bahrain

Iran’s military is claiming fresh strikes on US military targets in Jordan and Bahrain, per state media.

Targets were identified in Jordan’s Al Azraq base and Bahrain’s Sheikh Isa air base.

Mapped: Traffic still piled up outside Strait of Hormuz

Traffic around the Strait of Hormuz was still subdued on Wednesday as clashes between the US and Iran continue to escalate.

Ship tracking data from Marine Traffic shows limited movement around the Strait itself, which has been affected by spoofing and radio interference since the start of the conflict.

Rubio discusses Iran war with Jaishankar ahead talks with Chinese diplomat

Marco Rubio held talks with Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar on the sidelines of the Asean meeting, discussing the Iran war as he is met counterparts of the Quad grouping.

Rubio reaffirmed the commitment of Quad – the US, India, Australia and Japan – to maritime security in the Indo-Pacific.

"We are united in our conviction that peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain underpin the security and prosperity of the region," the leaders said in a statement.

Rubio added in a post on X that, "The Quad remains a priority, and we will meet again later this year."

After his talks with Jaishankar, he said an interim US-India trade deal that Washington said is "almost complete."

“The world is extremely turbulent, and it is increasingly evident that no single nation or even grouping can deal with it on its own," Jaishankar said.

Rubio is also expected to meet Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the summit.

Iran's demands over the Strait of Hormuz would set a dangerous precedent, Rubio tells Asean leaders

US secretary of state Marco Rubio has warned that Iran's demand to control and levy tolls on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz would endanger the global economy and set a dangerous precedent for international waterways.

Speaking at an Asean foreign ministers' meeting in Manila on Wednesday, Rubio said allowing a country to control an international shipping lane and attack vessels that refuse to pay would undermine the principle of freedom of navigation.

"If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don't pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region," he said.

Trump threatens to strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site

Donald Trump has warned that the US military will hit Iran’s "Pickaxe Mountain" nuclear complex soon.

Trump said the US military would be "hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily," referring to Pickaxe Mountain – known in Iran as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La – a fortified underground site near one of the country's main nuclear enrichment facilities.

Pickaxe Mountain, about 220km south of Tehran and near the Natanz nuclear facility, is believed to house an underground complex buried nearly 100 metres inside the mountain.

Little is known about the site, which experts say is still under construction, and is likely too deep to be reached by even the US's most advanced bunker buster missiles.

According to the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), the facility was not targeted during the US-Israeli strikes in either the 2025 or 2026 conflicts.