Report: Iran Accelerates Construction at “Pickaxe Mountain” Underground Facility
Satellite imagery shows Tehran advancing a deep, fortified site near Natanz amid JCPOA collapse and internal purges
The announcement comes four months after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes in June disabled Iran’s key nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. At the same time, analysis of new satellite imagery reveals that Iran has accelerated construction of a new, heavily fortified underground facility, even as its nuclear program faces the loss of senior scientists and a sweeping internal crackdown.
The U.S. strikes on June 22 — dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer— targeted three major sites: the uranium enrichment facilities at Fordow and Natanz, and the uranium metal processing plant in Isfahan. Recent satellite images of all three sites show no activity or attempts at restoration. In Natanz, vital transformers and generators destroyed in the attack have yet to be replaced. In Isfahan, debris continues to block access roads to several damaged buildings. The images indicate that the strikes effectively halted nuclear activity at these critical facilities.
However, while activity at known sites has ceased, Iran has accelerated construction at the Pickaxe Mountain site — a deep underground complex located about 1.6 kilometers south of Natanz. Construction began in 2020, following a fire widely attributed to sabotage at the Natanz centrifuge assembly hall. At the time, Iran’s then–nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, announced that a new hall would be built “in the heart of the mountain near Natanz.”
Analysis of imagery from June and September shows that since the strikes, a perimeter security wall has been built around the entire site, and two underground tunnels have been expanded and are now covered with gravel and sand. The facility’s full purpose remains unclear, with speculation ranging from the construction of a new centrifuge plant, to the relocation of disrupted activities such as uranium metal processing from Isfahan, or even the development of a covert enrichment site. On September 26, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian dismissed the significance of the satellite photos and invited IAEA inspectors to visit — even as Tehran continues to deny them access.
In addition to infrastructure damage, the June Israeli strikes included the targeted killing of senior members of Iran’s scientific leadership. According to Israeli Ambassador Joshua Zarka, at least 14 senior nuclear scientists were killed. The loss of such expertise — requiring years of specialized training — is expected to severely impact Iran’s ability to preserve critical knowledge for advancing its program.
The security failures have also triggered a harsh domestic crackdown. On June 25, Iranian intelligence forces reported the arrest of more than 700 citizens accused of spying for Israel. In September, two men accused of meeting with Mossad operatives were executed. The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights reports that Iran executed at least 1,000 people in 2025. This wave of arrests and executions has created what the organization describes as a “culture of fear” within Iran’s nuclear establishment. According to The Telegraph, surviving scientists have expressed distrust in their security teams and requested replacements.
The termination of the nuclear agreement and expulsion of inspectors — alongside the construction of secret facilities and threats to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) — have raised deep international concern. According to U.S. assessments, voiced by Vice President J.D. Vance in June), Iran may still possess a stockpile of 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%.
Iran's secret move of it enriched uranium stockpile to Pickaxe Mountain
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