US said to update Israel on plans to intensify Iran offensive in coming days, bomb Pickaxe Mountain

By Stav Levaton

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22 July 2026, 9:18 pm

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Stav Levaton is a military reporter for The Times of Israel

This June 15, 2026, photo from Planet Labs PBC shows Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, upper right, and the construction at Pickaxe Mountain directly to the south of it. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

The United States has informed Israel that it plans to escalate its strikes on Iran in the coming days, including the use of heavy bombers for the first time since this year’s joint US-Israeli campaign against the Islamic Republic, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

According to the report, the bombers are expected to target the Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site near Qom, based on repeated threats by US President Donald Trump over the past week that the area would be hit “pretty soon.”

The close security coordination between Jerusalem and Washington is reportedly intended to allow Israel to prepare for the possibility that Iran could respond to the intensified US strikes by escalating its own attacks, including launching missiles at Israel.

Israel is at its peak level of readiness tonight following the US update, Kan reports.