US shifts strikes to nuclear sites as oil price fears mount

Donald Trump on Tuesday named Pickaxe Mountain in central Iran as the next target for US airstrikes, signaling a clear expansion of the campaign beyond the southern coastal military facilities that had been the focus of strikes aimed at securing passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran pushed back, warning it would strike US and allied interests if its nuclear sites are hit, and continued attacks on targets across the Middle East, including a radar facility in Kuwait. As the armed conflict between the two sides intensified, warnings emerged that oil could reach $120 a barrel if the standoff persists through the fourth quarter of this year.

Trump made the remarks during a meeting at the White House with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, raising the possibility that Iran had moved its nuclear facilities deep underground beneath Pickaxe Mountain and warning that the US would strike the area. "We're going to hit that area very hard, pretty soon," Trump said, adding: "Anywhere they're thinking about nuclear, in any way, shape or form, we're going to hit it very, very hard." On whether Iran had relocated its nuclear facilities to Pickaxe Mountain, he said, "Maybe they did," adding, "If there's no nuclear material, then it doesn't matter."

Pickaxe Mountain lies about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility. According to The New York Times, Iran has been planning since 2020 to build a centrifuge factory at the site. Tehran has refused to allow inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which sought access to assess the site's purpose, rejecting such visits as violations of its sovereignty.

Trump's remarks made clear that US strikes are expanding to include nuclear facilities. After truce and end-of-war negotiations collapsed, the US resumed airstrikes targeting military installations along Iran's southern coast that threatened Strait of Hormuz navigation, as well as infrastructure such as bridges and railways used by Iranian forces. More recently, the strikes have broadened to include nuclear sites such as Isfahan, which hosts a nuclear research complex.

Reuters reported that Iran's Supreme Joint Military Command issued a statement saying that if its nuclear facilities were attacked, the interests of the United States and its allies would suffer. Iran intensified strikes against countries in the region, including a radar facility in Kuwait, sharply escalating its confrontation with the US.

As the US-Iran armed conflict deepened, fears of a sharp rise in global oil prices grew. According to the Financial Times, at least seven vessels have been struck in the Strait of Hormuz since the truce collapsed. Analysts also noted that two Saudi oil tankers had changed course and were rerouting toward the Suez Canal after Yemen's Houthi rebels declared they would blockade the Red Sea.

Goldman Sachs warned Tuesday that if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked through the fourth quarter of this year, oil prices could surge to $120 a barrel. Brent crude futures for September delivery closed at $91.01 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange, up 2.01 percent from the previous session. West Texas Intermediate futures for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange also rose 2.02 percent to close at $84.91 a barrel. On a closing-price basis, Brent reached its highest level since the truce MOU was signed in June, while WTI hit its highest since June 11.