Surge in construction at suspected Iran nuclear site: analysts
CSIS says satellite images show the site is shifting from excavation to internal construction and reinforcement, with road activity at its highest level since monitoring began.
- On Wednesday, the Center for Strategic and International Studies released satellite imagery analysis showing a "clear surge in construction activity" at Pickaxe Mountain in 2026, indicating a shift toward internal reinforcement near Iran's Natanz nuclear complex.
- Iran's nuclear program is "likely" using the deeply buried site as a safe haven for centrifuge assembly or uranium metal conversion efforts, according to CSIS analysts cited in the report.
- The Defense Department conducted a $1.2 million emergency test at White Sands Missile Range to validate capabilities against deeply buried targets, while military planners work on a "next-generation penetrator" weapon to succeed the Massive Ordnance Penetrator.
- President Donald Trump threatened last week to "take out" Pickaxe Mountain, telling reporters the U.S. knows "everybody that's moving" at the site amid escalating tensions with Iran.
- Experts warn that even the Pentagon's "heaviest non-nuclear" bombs may struggle to penetrate the granite fortification, underscoring the technical challenges facing any potential military strike operation against the deeply buried facility.
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Satellite imagery shows new activity at a site near the main uranium enrichment plant south of Tehran.
At IAEA, construction activity was reported in the area of Mount Kuh-e Kolang, located 1.5 kilometres from the uranium enrichment plant in the Iranian city of Nathanze, which allegedly houses a Tehran nuclear programme facility. "Sputnik images indicate a new movement at a site south of the main Iranian uranium enrichment plant", said IAEA CEO Rafael Grossi on Thursday in a conversation with Bloomberg.
UN Nuclear Watchdog Confirms Activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain
IAEA reports construction activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain site
The International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, has detected signs of activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain complex, a site that Western intelligence agencies have identified as a possible location for storing nuclear material. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told Bloomberg that satellite imagery reviewed by the UN nuclear watchdog showed indications of movement around the site, […] IAEA reports construction activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain s…
(Cairo=Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Sang-hoon = The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [found] a new... at Iran's major underground nuclear facility, 'Pickaxe Mountain'
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