After U.S. strikes, Iran expands work at mysterious site
Source: Washington Post
WP EXCLUSIVE
After U.S. strikes, Iran expands work at mysterious underground site
Satellite imagery indicates Iran is increasing construction at a deeply buried site in "Pickaxe Mountain," just south of the Natanz nuclear facility hit by Israeli and U.S. strikes in June.
By Warren P. Strobel and Jarrett Ley Updated 23 minutes ago
A B-2 bomber arrives at Whiteman Air Force Base, Knob Noster, Missouri, on June 22. (David Smith/AP)
By Warren P. Strobel and Jarrett Ley
Iran has increased construction at a mysterious underground site in the months since the U.S. and Israel pummeled its main nuclear facilities, suggesting Tehran has not entirely ceased work on its suspected weapons program and may be cautiously rebuilding, according to a Washington Post review of satellite imagery and independent analysis.
The ongoing work is at a site known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, or Pickaxe Mountain, where since 2020, Iranian engineers have been tunneling deep into the Zagros mountain range — about a mile south of the nuclear complex at Natanz, which was a target of U.S. bombing strikes on June 22.
Source: Maxar
The purpose of Pickaxe Mountain remains unclear. International nuclear inspectors have never visited and Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Tehran rebuffed his questions about the site earlier this year.
Analysts who have monitored its construction estimate the halls under Pickaxe Mountain may be even deeper — between 260 and 330 feet — than those at Iran’s Fordow facility, which U.S. warplanes struck with massive earth-penetrating bombs. The site’s aboveground footprint sprawls over roughly a square mile of mountainside, with a pair of tunnel entrances on both the east and west side.
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Source: Maxar
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Source: Maxar
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By Warren P. Strobel
Warren P. Strobel is a reporter at The Washington Post covering U.S. intelligence. He has written about U.S. security policies under seven presidents. He received numerous awards, and was portrayed in the movie "Shock and Awe," for his skeptical reporting on the decision to invade Iraq. Send him secure tips on Signal at 202 744 1312follow on X@wstrobel
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/warren-p-strobel/
By Jarrett Ley
Jarrett Ley is a visual forensics reporter at The Washington Post. His reporting mobilizes open-source investigation methods alongside spatial analysis techniques honed through his prior training in architecture. Contact Jarrett on signal with news tips and visual evidence at 202-527-0362.follow on X@osviz_jarrett
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/jarrett-ley/
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/09/26/iran-underground-nuclear-us/
Commenters tend to doubt that the sites were "totally obliterated."