Report: Iran accelerates construction at deeply buried nuclear site

U.S. President Donald Trump again threatened to attack Iran’s “Pickaxe Mountain”, where, according to reports, Israeli intelligence believes the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has transferred thousands of centrifuges, CNN reported Wednesday afternoon that construction at the site surged sharply during 2026. The report is based on satellite images from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) obtained by CNN. CNN reported that the surge occurred amid the war and that a team of experts analyzed satellite imagery spanning six years. “Pickaxe Mountain” is a nuclear site that has remained untouched during the two most recent wars with Iran. It is located in the Zagros Mountains, very close to the Natanz nuclear facility, where Iran has been excavating an underground facility deep beneath the mountain for the past six years. Experts estimate that the facility could be capable of withstanding even the most powerful bunker-busting bombs. According to CSIS experts, the underground facility was “likely designed to be a safe haven for Iran's nuclear program.” However, the report said there are indications that the United States is developing means of attacking the site, despite the fact that U.S. military forces focused on different types of targets during the war that began February 28 and has now been underway for six months. CNN also reported that just four days before the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the director of the Pentagon’s program for evaluating weapons for weapons of mass destruction signed a $1.2 million “emergency contract” to “repair a unique subterranean test facility at White Sands Missile Range” in New Mexico. The purpose was to conduct a “live-fire test designed to validate classified capabilities against rapidly emerging threats.” Three sources told CNN that the plans for the test were related to the war in Iran and specifically cited the need to develop a means of attacking the underground facilities Iran has excavated at the greatest depths.