Surge in construction at suspected Iran nuclear site: analysts
CSIS said the site’s 2026 work suggests Iran is reinforcing a deeply buried facility that could support centrifuge assembly or enrichment.
- 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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37 Articles
Iran is beefing up its underground Pickaxe Mountain nuclear base — as Trump threatens to strike it
Construction work has been speeding up at Iran's secret Pickaxe Mountain nuclear base, analysts found — as the Trump administration weighs how to pierce through the deep, underground facility.
According to CNN, satellite images show that there is intense construction activity on the "granite mountain", while US forces are ready to use new weapons
Iran has this year accelerated the pace of construction on an alleged underground nuclear site, according to a satellite image survey published today by US analysts. The site is deeply buried in Peakaxe Mountain, near Natanz (center), where Western intelligence services suspect that Iran is building a clandestine uranium enrichment facility. US President Donald Trump threatened last July 21 with a U.S. military attack on Peakaxe Mountain as part…
Satellite images show surge in construction at Iran's nuclear site on Pickaxe mountain as war with US reignites
Iran has accused the US and Israel of cloaking military strikes against its nuclear facilities beneath the legal authority wielded by inspectors at the IAEA.
Construction work has significantly intensified in the last year on Mount Kolang, in the center of Iran, where it is suspected that there would be an underground nuclear complex, according to an analysis carried out by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), reports lientlejour.com. In a report published on Wednesday, the group of experts estimates, based on satellite images for a period of six years, that the area has recorde…
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