'Pickaxe Mountain did not come up': Israel denies nuclear site was discussed in Trump-Netanyahu meeting
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Pickaxe Mountain did not come up': Israel denies nuclear site was discussed in Trump-Netanyahu meeting")
This handout picture released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO) Shows Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington DC, on July 28, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
Israel denied reports that Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site with President Trump, calling them "fake news" and emphasizing strong, established intelligence-sharing channels.
The issue of Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site was not discussed during the meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, according to Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate head Tzipi Hotovely, who dismissed reports suggesting otherwise as “fake news.”
Speaking to Israeli reporters after the meeting, Hotovely said claims that Netanyahu had brought fresh intelligence on the site to Trump were false. She said Israel and the United States already share intelligence through established channels.
Also read: 'One of the best we've ever had': Netanyahu hails Trump talks, says Iran must never go nuclear
“The idea that we have some intelligence here is a sort of fake news that ran throughout the day,” Hotovely said. “We know how to work in close cooperation with the US intelligence through our channels. We don’t need this meeting to bring intelligence.”
Her remarks came after Trump, in an interview with Fox News shortly before meeting Netanyahu, said the US already had intelligence on the Pickaxe Mountain site and added, “I don’t need Bibi” to tell him about it, appearing to brush aside suggestions that the Israeli leader would brief him on the matter.
Hotovely, who said she was briefed by Netanyahu after the Oval Office meeting but was not present during the talks, said both leaders shared the same objective on Iran. “On the Iran threat, there was a deep understanding in the meeting that we are striving for the same goal,” she said. She also rejected suggestions that Israel was attempting to influence Washington’s policy towards Tehran.
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Also read: Netanyahu to present Trump with fresh intel on Iran's SECRET 'Pickaxe Mountain' nuclear site: Report
“There is no truth to the claim that Israel is pushing the US toward some point,” Hotovely said. “The prime minister’s goal was to deepen coordination, but not to push the president to take one action or another. We do not tell the president of the United States what to do.” According to Hotovely, there are “many, many ways” to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
She also revealed a light-hearted exchange during the meeting, saying Netanyahu described the late Senator Lindsey Graham as Israel’s “number one friend”, prompting Trump to respond, “I am Israel’s number one friend. Lindsey was number 2.”
