Video summary
Pickaxe Mountain stands as one of the few remaining and heavily invested facilities in Iran's nuclear program, located south of Natanz. Recent multispectral satellite imagery analysis reveals that construction activity at this site has surged significantly, particularly following military operations by the United States and Israel in early 2026. The facility's development occurred in distinct phases, with major excavation taking place from 2020 until mid-2024, followed by a period of lower activity likely influenced by diplomatic efforts. However, after the recent military strikes, construction tempo increased dramatically again, suggesting that Iran is accelerating its underground infrastructure despite international pressure.
The site boasts formidable defenses designed to withstand even advanced aerial attacks. The tunnels are buried 80 to 100 meters deep into granite bedrock, a depth that likely exceeds the penetration capabilities of current US bunker buster munitions like the GBU-57, which can effectively destroy facilities up to about 60 meters deep. To further protect the entrance points from tactical barrages, multiple feet of hardened reinforced cement have been placed over the original portal accesses. While analysts note that striking the tunnel entrances could cause collapses and temporarily halt Iran's nuclear activities, such measures are viewed as short-term solutions rather than a permanent fix for the broader strategic challenge.
Ultimately, Pickaxe Mountain represents a significant hurdle for the United States in its efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear ambitions solely through air power. The existence of such deep underground facilities illustrates that bombing campaigns alone cannot completely eliminate Iran's nuclear program or stop its pursuit of uranium enrichment capabilities. Experts argue that because Iran can potentially relocate technology and infrastructure to different sites if one is destroyed, a comprehensive negotiated conclusion remains the only viable path to resolving the conflict. This reality underscores the limitations of military force in addressing complex geopolitical issues involving advanced underground nuclear infrastructure.
Read the full video transcript
There are not many nuclear facilities
that remain in Iran's nuclear program.
Pickax Mountain is one of the few
facilities Iran is investing heavily in
constructing for nuclear activities.
Multisspectral satellite imagery
analysis of Iran's Pickax Mountain has
indicated that this year has been the
single greatest surge in construction
related activity at the site south of
Natan's nuclear enrichment facility.
using a combination of optical change
detection and synthetic aperture radar
imagery over the course of 2020 to
present identified three key phases of
construction for the primary facility at
pickaxe mountain. [music] 2020 to about
mid 2024 was the primary excavation
period in a low period of activity from
mid 2024 to 2026 likely marked by
diplomatic endeavors with the United
States. However, following military
operations by the United States and the
Israeli military, a significant increase
in the construction tempo began in
January of 2026 and has continued
through present. Israeli intelligence
service provided an indication to the
United States government that the
Iranian military and government had
relocated centerfuge technology into the
underground facility at Picax Mountain.
The imagery analysis that we conducted
was unable to corroborate that movement
[music] pattern. The facility is likely
not ready for uranium enrichment at
present. There is a centralized
construction area from which
construction activity seems to emanate
from to first an eastern portal access
that is nearby the construction camp.
[music] Then a western portal access at
the extreme western part of the
underground facility. Multiple feet of
hardened reinforced [music]
cement have been placed over the
original portal accesses, likely in an
attempt to [music] protect those portal
accesses from tactical barrage. This
site has been closely monitored by CSIS
as well as leading media outlets [music]
and analysts such as those at the
Institute for Science and International
Security [music] and the Center for
Non-Proliferation Studies among others.
>> Pickax Mountain has very formidable
defenses. The tunnels inside of the
mountain are roughly 80 to 100 m deep,
buried into granite. This is likely
beyond the capabilities of the US's
strongest bunker buster munitions,
non-uclear bombs. Last June during
Operation Midnight Hammer, the United
States used a strategy called
doubletapping, where we [music] dropped
one massive ordinance penetrator,
creating a crater, and then dropped a
second bunker buster directly into the
crater. But pickaxe is deeper than even
the largest targets that we hit last
June. Fordo was probably 60 to 80 m
deep. Pickax is between 80 and 100 m
deep. [music] The GBU57 massive
ordinance penetrator can penetrate and
blow up facilities that are 60 m deep or
so. We could attack and strike the
tunnel entrances of the facility,
collapsing the entrances. that would
significantly halt the limited
vestigages of Iran's nuclear program
that remain. However, I think that that
is a short-term solution. If the US did
strike and was able to somehow destroy
Pickax Mountain, the Iranians might just
move to a different underground
facility. I think that Pickax is
representative of a large challenge that
the United [music] States faces. It's
very difficult to destroy all of Iran's
nuclear program from the air alone. It
really illustrates the need for some
sort of comprehensive negotiated
conclusion to this conflict because
[music] you're not going to be able to
completely bomb away Iran's nuclear
ambitions.