Satellite images show construction surge at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site

President Donald Trump has also publicly raised the possibility of a US attack on Pickaxe Mountain.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Iran has sharply increased construction this year at Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried site near the Natanz nuclear complex that analysts believe could become part of the country’s nuclear program, according to an analysis of satellite imagery reported by CNN.

The site, roughly 140 miles south of Tehran, has been under construction for years.

A new analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found “a clear surge in construction activity” this year after examining six years of satellite imagery.

Recent work has included reinforcing tunnel portal entrances, paving roads within the complex, and removing excavated rock and dirt, according to the analysis, which was shared with CNN ahead of publication.

Pickaxe Mountain is located near Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment complex and is buried beneath a granite mountain.

The CSIS analysis said the underground facility could potentially be used as a centrifuge assembly facility, an enrichment plant or a protected underground shelter.

Analysts said the continued construction indicates that the facility is not yet fully operational for active uranium enrichment.

The activity has drawn attention as Israeli intelligence has indicated that Iran may seek to transfer centrifuges to the underground complex.

President Donald Trump has also publicly raised the possibility of a US attack on Pickaxe Mountain.

“We may hit Pickaxe very soon,” Trump told reporters last week, adding that “we know everybody that’s moving” at the site.

Targeting the underground facility could present significant difficulties because of the protection provided by the granite mountain.

The CSIS team reported that the site would pose a challenge even for the Pentagon’s “heaviest non-nuclear” bombs.

There are signs that the US is working on ways to strike such deeply buried sites. US forces, however, have largely concentrated on other types of targets during the six-month conflict with Iran.

The latest construction activity does not establish what Iran ultimately intends to house inside Pickaxe Mountain. The range of possible uses identified by experts includes both nuclear-related facilities and a secure underground shelter.