WASHINGTON — President Trump publicly rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday after The Post reported that the leader of the Jewish state is expected to present Trump with evidence that Iran is pursuing nuclear technology at its subterranean Pickaxe Mountain site.
“Well, I don’t need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi is telling me that because he wants me to stay involved,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” when asked about the expectation Netanyahu will bring up Pickaxe Mountain ahead of an Oval Office meeting.
“We know exactly what’s going on. But no, I heard Bibi announce that. I said, ‘Why don’t you just tell it to me? Why do you have to announce it to the world?’” the president went on.
“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.”
Trump cited satellite technology being used by the US to study the site, located about 120 miles south of Tehran.
Israel has intelligence indicating that Iran has moved nuclear centrifuges to the complex some 300 feet beneath the Kolang Mountain, not far from the Natanz nuclear facility, which the US bombed in June 2025.
Underpinning Netanyahu’s expected briefing to Trump are concerns that Iran is not negotiating in good faith with the US, The Post previously reported.
The Israeli leader is also expected to present evidence that Iran has been rapidly rebuilding its missile capabilities after joint attacks on the Islamic Republic earlier this year.
Last week, Trump was reportedly mulling a major escalation in the military campaign against Iran, which resumed earlier this month for nearly two weeks after repeated attacks by Tehran on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The president abruptly paused the strikes July 24 after talks began to rekindle. Iran initially denied being in direct talks with the US, but Trump insists they are ongoing and have been “good talks.”
“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.”
Despite previously threatening to attack bridges and power plants in Iran, Trump signaled that he is very uneasy about ever ordering strikes on civilian infrastructure.
“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,” the president riffed. “I could take out most of their bridges in less than an hour, less than an hour.”
“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 dig at Netanyahu comes amid mounting tensions between the two leaders over Iran and other Middle East issues.
Netanyahu is visiting Washington, DC, to attend a Tuesday afternoon memorial service for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).