A suspected Iranian nuclear facility buried deep inside Pickaxe Mountain has recorded a significant increase in construction activity this year, according to analysts who examined six years of satellite imagery. The site, located near Iran’s Natanz nuclear complex and about 140 miles south of Tehran, has long attracted international attention because of assessments that it could potentially be used as an undeclared uranium enrichment facility. The latest imagery indicates that construction has accelerated in 2026, even as conflict and military tensions have continued across the Middle East.
Analysts from the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) reviewed satellite images covering the period from 2020 through August 9 this year. Their assessment identified what they described as a “clear surge in construction activity” at Pickaxe Mountain. According to the analysts, Iran has also been establishing a security perimeter around the underground facility. The imagery was examined across several locations connected to the site, including access points and roads, in an effort to determine how the facility has developed over time.
The CSIS assessment identified three distinct phases of activity across five key points of interest and the roads connecting them. Analysts said the pattern suggested that the site may have moved beyond its earlier excavation phase and into probable internal construction, while work to reinforce the exterior has continued. The underground location, which is built into granite, makes direct assessment difficult and has contributed to sustained international scrutiny over the facility and its possible purpose.
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The analysts said road activity at Pickaxe Mountain in 2026 was greater than at any other point observed during the six-year period covered by their imagery review. They linked the increased activity to several developments visible in the satellite images, including the raising and strengthening of portal entrances, paving work on internal roads and reinforcement around access areas. The imagery also showed what analysts described as the flattening and removal of excavation spoil, indicating continued work around the underground facility and its approaches.
The construction activity is significant because of the site's proximity to the Natanz nuclear complex, one of Iran’s major nuclear facilities. Pickaxe Mountain has previously drawn attention from intelligence agencies and nuclear experts because of assessments that its underground location could provide protection for sensitive equipment. The latest satellite imagery, however, does not by itself establish what equipment or activities are taking place inside the mountain. The CSIS analysts therefore distinguished between what could be observed from imagery and claims about developments that could not be independently verified.
In particular, the analysts said they were unable to either substantiate or refute a reported Israeli intelligence claim that Iran had moved uranium centrifuges and centrifuge components into Pickaxe Mountain last autumn. Centrifuges are central to the uranium-enrichment process, but the satellite imagery reviewed by the analysts could not establish whether such equipment had been transferred into the underground site. The distinction is important because increased construction activity does not, on its own, prove that enrichment equipment has been installed or that enrichment is taking place.
The findings nevertheless provide fresh evidence of continued activity at a facility that has remained under international scrutiny. The CSIS analysis suggests that work at Pickaxe Mountain has progressed from earlier excavation toward construction and reinforcement, while activity on roads and around access points has increased sharply this year. At the same time, questions about the facility's ultimate purpose remain unresolved. Satellite imagery can reveal changes to structures, roads and surrounding areas, but determining what is happening inside the heavily protected underground facility would require additional evidence. The latest assessment therefore adds to the information available about developments at Pickaxe Mountain without independently confirming claims about the presence of uranium-enrichment equipment there.
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