Iran’s hidden mountain nuclear site raises urgent threat, must be ‘neutralized': reports

Iran’s perchance astir unsafe atomic tract is buried arsenic heavy arsenic 100 meters nether a granite mountain, according to caller assessments, with 1 nonproliferation adept informing it indispensable beryllium "neutralized" earlier the U.S warfare with Iran ends.

This came arsenic caller figures released Wednesday by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) amusement that U.S. and Israeli forces launched Operation Epic Fury successful precocious February, and person since struck much than 7,800 targets successful Iran arsenic the struggle enters Day 18.

"Before the United States and Israel extremity large combat operations against Iran, they indispensable implicit 2 urgent tasks," Andrea Stricker, lawman manager of the Nonproliferation Program astatine the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said successful a argumentation briefing.

WHILE UN ISSUES MIXED SIGNALS, WITKOFF EXPOSES IRAN'S NUCLEAR EVASION ‘PRIDE’

Satellite imagery shows reinforcement efforts astatine Pickaxe Mountain tract arsenic Trump says Tehran pursuing atomic weapon (Vantor/Handout via REUTERS)

"First, they indispensable neutralize Pickaxe Mountain. Second, they indispensable retrieve oregon destruct highly enriched uranium stocks to forestall them from falling into the hands of surviving authorities elements, different adversarial states oregon violent proxies."

High-resolution outer imagery taken successful mid-February shows Iran's accelerated efforts to reenforce the tract astatine Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La — dubbed "Pickaxe Mountain" — against imaginable airstrikes, according to the Institute for Science and International Security.

"At 1 of the eastbound passageway entrances, stone and ungraded tin beryllium seen pushed backmost and leveled connected apical of the passageway portal," the institute's study said.

"Additionally, implicit the past month, a concrete-reinforced headworks for the passageway entranceway hold was added. This allows for further overburden successful the signifier of rock, ungraded oregon concrete."

STRIKES MAY SET IRAN BACK — BUT LIKELY WON'T END NUCLEAR PROGRAM, UN WATCHDOG CHIEF SAYS

Satellite representation shows an overview of the Pickaxe Mountain passageway analyzable successful Natanz. (Vantor/Handout via REUTERS)

The study added that "these efforts fortify the passageway portals and supply further extortion against an airstrike," noting disposable piles of operation materials adjacent the entrances.

Preventing Iran from having a atomic limb is 1 of President Donald Trump’s stated warfare aims. In June 2025, U.S. forces already carried retired strikes against atomic facilities including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

Iran had astir 441 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% arsenic of June 2025 — capable material, if further enriched to weapons-grade levels, for aggregate atomic weapons, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Rafael Grossi, its manager general, besides said March 9 that the U.N. watchdog believes astir 200 kilograms of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile are inactive stored successful heavy tunnels astatine a atomic analyzable extracurricular Isfahan.

SATELLITE IMAGES REVEAL ACTIVITY AT IRAN NUCLEAR SITES BOMBED BY US, ISRAEL

President Donald Trump confirmed the U.S. launched strikes connected Iran connected Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.  (The White House via X Account/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Grossi added that further quantities of highly enriched uranium are believed to beryllium astatine different atomic halfway successful Natanz, wherever Iran has constructed a caller fortified underground installation astatine Pickaxe Mountain.

Meanwhile connected March 9, Trump pointed to Iran’s efforts to resume atomic enactment astatine a deeper tract and said Tehran has continued pursuing a atomic limb "even aft we obliterated their cardinal atomic sites."

"They were starting enactment astatine different site, a antithetic tract … that was protected by granite … they wanted to spell a batch deeper, and they started the process," Trump said, according to reports.

According to Stricker, the "different site" referenced by Trump is Pickaxe Mountain, wherever Iran has said it has been gathering a centrifuge assembly works astatine the tract since 2021. The tract is simply a mile from its Natanz enrichment plant.

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"The size of the facility, arsenic good arsenic the extortion provided by the gangly mountain, raised contiguous concerns astir whether further delicate activities are planned, specified arsenic uranium enrichment," The Institute for Science and International Security besides noted successful its report.

At the opening of March, a conveyance was struck extracurricular the site, presumably by Israel, the Wall Street Journal said, earlier suggesting that the conveyance onslaught was grounds the U.S. and Israel are watching the upland carefully.