Satellite Photos Reveal Nuclear Activity in Iran

By Amira El-Fekki‎

Recent satellite imagery analyzed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) suggests renewed activity at Iranian nuclear sites, raising concerns about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions despite the heavy damage inflicted by recent U.S. and Israeli strikes.

Newsweek has reached out to the Iranian foreign ministry for comment.

Why It Matters

The strikes by the U.S. and Israel in June reportedly destroyed major infrastructure at Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, halting enrichment and processing at those sites for now.

President Donald Trump said Iran was close to building a nuclear bomb before the strikes, echoing a previous assessment by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Tehran possessed sufficient enriched uranium to produce nuclear weapons.

Tehran denied the claims, maintaining that its nuclear program is for peaceful and civilian purposes. On October 18, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a 2015 deal regulating and monitoring Iran's nuclear activities, expired, and deadlock looms over further negotiations for a new agreement.

What To Know

CSIS, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank published satellite images showing that Iran has stepped up construction at a large underground facility at Pickaxe Mountain, a mile south of the Natanz uranium enrichment site.

Construction at the Pickaxe Mountain site began in 2020, according to CSIS. The satellite images show the erection of a perimeter security wall surrounding the site and tunnels extending to its west, east, and southern edges.

The report noted, however, that the imagery was not conclusive on the purpose of the activity, laying out several possible explanations:

Iran could be forging ahead with its planned building of a centrifuge assembly facility, expanding the scope of its mission at Pickaxe Mountain or pursuing a clandestine uranium enrichment facility at the site for Iran’s existing stockpile.

Nuclear experts believe Iran relocated more than 400 kg of highly enriched uranium—enough for 10 nuclear weapons—to a secret location.

An unnamed senior Iranian source told Reuters in June that most of its highly enriched uranium had been relocated to an undisclosed site before the U.S. and Israeli attacks.

What People Are Saying

CSIS fellows Joseph Rodgers and Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. noted in their report published on Tuesday: "Iran likely possesses a stockpile of 400 kg of 60 percent enriched HEU, and it is unclear how quickly Iran can begin enrichment at its third enrichment facility at Isfahan. Despite this, there are technical and social challenges that will impede attempts by Iran to dash toward a bomb."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told media on Sunday, as quoted by the Islamic Republic News agency IRNA: “I have repeatedly said that if the Americans are ready to engage from an equal position, with honesty, seeking a mutually beneficial, not one-sided, agreement based on mutual respect, then we are prepared for serious and genuine negotiations toward a mutually acceptable solution. We have never abandoned diplomacy.”

Behnam Ben Taleblu, Iran program senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, wrote Tuesday on X: "Iran Watchers (esp. in DC) are yet to meaningfully grapple w/ the implications of this finding for the future of U.S. Iran policy. Put differently, Iran is not enriching uranium (to ANY level of purity) in a declared nuclear site for the first time since April 2006.

What Happens Next

CSIS experts warn that Iran could rebuild key parts of its nuclear program in secret. They urge the international community to press Tehran to comply with the Non-Proliferation Treaty, an international treaty that aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, and restore cooperation with the IAEA as a prerequisite for any credible future dialogue.