Iran has dramatically stepped up construction at a deeply buried facility near the Natanz nuclear complex that U.S. intelligence agencies view as a likely location for Tehran to protect future elements of its nuclear program. A six-year satellite imagery analysis found a “clear surge in construction activity” this year at the site, known as Pickaxe Mountain, CNN reported.
Israeli intelligence has suggested that Iran may be seeking to move centrifuges to Pickaxe Mountain as part of uranium enrichment efforts. President Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike the facility, telling reporters last week, “We may hit Pickaxe very soon,” and adding that the U.S. knows “everybody that’s moving” at the site. But the facility’s location beneath a granite mountain presents a major challenge even for the Pentagon’s heaviest non-nuclear bunker-busting weapons.
The U.S. military maintains operational plans for strikes against Pickaxe Mountain, and the site was included in a target package considered earlier this summer as President Trump threatened to escalate the conflict with Iran, according to a source familiar with the matter. The proposed strike involved some of the largest bombs in the U.S. arsenal, although it remains unclear whether they could penetrate deeply enough to destroy whatever Iran may have moved underground. CNN also reported that elements of the Defense Department recently conducted a “planning sprint” focused on striking underground facilities.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis found that Pickaxe Mountain has experienced more road activity in 2026 than ever before, along with additional work including raising and hardening tunnel entrances, paving internal roads, reinforcing access areas and removing excavated dirt. Analysts believe the facility is likely intended for one of three nuclear-related purposes: a centrifuge assembly facility, an enrichment facility, or a protected site for other nuclear weapons-related work such as uranium metal conversion. However, CSIS cautioned that the continuing construction could indicate the facility is not yet capable of enrichment work, if that is ultimately its intended purpose.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
