Iran Accelerates Underground Nuclear Site Amid U.S. War, Recent Satellite Images Show

The U.S.-Iran war is now in its seventh month, marked by escalating military exchanges, American casualties and a dangerous confrontation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. The Trump administration has repeatedly placed Iran’s nuclear ambitions, particularly its heavily fortified underground infrastructure, at the center of its justification for entering a conflict that continues spreading across the region.

While Washington insists its campaign will prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, recent satellite imagery points to significant activity at one of Iran’s most secretive nuclear-related complexes. Images from July and August 2026 show substantial new work at Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, commonly called Pickaxe Mountain, an underground facility located near the Natanz nuclear complex.

Analysis of the imagery indicates that work at Pickaxe Mountain has advanced beyond basic excavation toward developing and fortifying the complex. Iran appears to have expanded and paved internal roads, reinforced tunnel entrance portals with concrete and removed enormous quantities of excavated material, suggesting that construction around the deeply buried facility has entered a significantly more advanced phase.

The exact purpose of Pickaxe Mountain remains uncertain. Analysts believe the underground complex could eventually serve as a centrifuge assembly facility, uranium enrichment installation or hardened location for other nuclear activities with potential weapons relevance. However, available evidence does not establish that enrichment is currently occurring there, and the facility does not yet appear capable of enriching uranium.

Another major uncertainty is what Iran is actually constructing inside the mountain. Tehran has continued resisting International Atomic Energy Agency requests for access to the complex, preventing inspectors from independently establishing its configuration or intended function. The lack of access makes satellite imagery particularly important for understanding how rapidly the secretive underground project may be progressing during the war.

The construction contrasts sharply with Trump’s repeated insistence that Iran will never obtain a nuclear weapon. On September 7, he wrote on Truth Social: «Oil prices will drop precipitously, like everything else is dropping (but more!), when we WIN the war with Iran. Three Dollars a gallon, but ultimately, below Two Dollars a gallon. It will all happen quickly, and Iran will never have a Nuclear Weapon. MAGA! President DJT.»

Trump has also suggested the United States is closely tracking Iranian activity around Pickaxe Mountain. Speaking about the underground complex, he told reporters, «We know everybody that’s moving» and warned that Washington could strike the site «very soon, and very heavily.» But monitoring activity above ground is considerably different from destroying infrastructure buried beneath a heavily fortified mountain.

Pickaxe Mountain is protected beneath solid granite, raising uncertainty over whether conventional American bunker-busting weapons could penetrate deeply enough to reliably destroy critical infrastructure. The Pentagon has reportedly explored capabilities against ultra-deep targets through emergency testing at White Sands Missile Range, underscoring the technical difficulties military planners could face if Trump ultimately orders another major strike against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

Washington already deployed powerful conventional bunker-busting weapons during Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025. After strikes against Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, Trump wrote on Truth Social: «Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term! … The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!»

Trump reinforced that assessment while speaking to reporters, declaring, «I believe it was total obliteration,» and arguing that Iran’s nuclear program had been pushed backward by decades. More than a year later, however, accelerated construction at Pickaxe Mountain illustrates how destroying individual facilities may not necessarily eliminate Tehran’s broader ability to rebuild, relocate or further harden sensitive nuclear infrastructure.

The contradiction now sits at the heart of Washington’s strategy. Trump maintains that overwhelming American military power can guarantee Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon, while Tehran continues developing infrastructure potentially designed to survive conventional attacks. With diplomacy stalled and construction continuing, Pickaxe Mountain could become a crucial test of whether military force can ultimately deliver Trump’s promise.