‘Surge in construction’ at suspected Iranian nuclear site, analysts say, as US considers ways to strike deep underground
A suspected Iranian nuclear site buried under granite has seen a flurry of construction work this year as the war with the US has transpired, according to a group of analysts who reviewed six years of satellite imagery. The Pickaxe Mountain site, located near the Natanz nuclear complex roughly 140 miles south of Tehran, has … The post ‘Surge in construction’ at suspected Iranian nuclear site,…
Analysts have observed a notable increase in construction at a suspected Iranian nuclear site buried under granite, dubbed Pickaxe Mountain, over the past year, as tensions with the US have escalated, a report shared exclusively with CNN states. The facility, located near the Natanz nuclear complex in southern Iran, is suspected to serve as a safe haven for Iran's potential future nuclear program, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) analysts.
Israeli intelligence suggests Iran may be moving centrifuges to the site for uranium enrichment, and President Donald Trump has threatened to strike the location. However, the granite composition of Pickaxe Mountain poses a significant challenge for even the Pentagon's heaviest non-nuclear bombs. The US military has been working on developing a next-generation bomb specifically designed to penetrate deeply buried targets, as evidenced by a $1.2 million contract awarded to Pate Construction for testing capabilities at White Sands Missile Range just before the US-Iran conflict began.
Despite the Pentagon's operational plans for targeting Pickaxe Mountain during the war, it remains unclear if the current arsenal of weapons can effectively reach and destroy the facility.
Written by urgent.news from Egypt Independent's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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