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(https://rumcdn.geoedge.be/f7ae3efe-f9e8-44be-8cf9-3b564afd5f4b/grumi-ip.js)  (https://widgets.outbrain.com/outbrain.js)  (https://btloader.com/tag?o=5119785225420800&upapi=true)  (https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=GTM-T4BJGTM)   (../../manifest.json)  (../../../images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-16.png)  (../../../images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-32.png)  (../../../images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-192.png)  (https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-180.png)  (https://fonts.gstatic.com)  (https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js)  Iran's Pickaxe Mountain sees construction surge as US weighs underground strikes | The Jerusalem Post      (article-908107.html)                     (Jerusalem Post) (https://www.jpost.com/) (The Jerusalem Post - Israel News) (The Jerusalem Post - Israel News)    (CONFERENCES) (https://www.jpost.com/conferences) CONFERENCES  (ISRAEL NEWS) (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news) ISRAEL NEWS  (WORLD NEWS) (https://www.jpost.com/international) WORLD NEWS  (MIDDLE EAST) (https://www.jpost.com/middle-east) MIDDLE EAST  (BUSINESS & INNOVATION) (https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation) BUSINESS & INNOVATION  (DEFENSE & TECH) (https://defense-and-tech.jpost.com/) DEFENSE & TECH  (OPINION) (https://www.jpost.com/opinion) OPINION  (JP STORE) (https://store.jpost.com/) JP STORE   (https://www.jpost.com/PayWalllogin) Login    (Search) ()           (https://www.jpost.com/PayWalllogin) Login (https://payments.jpost.com/paywall/paywallpersonaldetails) Subscribe    (https://www.jpost.com/magazineprint/digitallibrary) JPOST DIGITAL LIBRARY  (https://www.jpost.com/) HOME PAGE  (https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report) THE JERUSALEM REPORT  (https://defense-and-tech.jpost.com/) DEFENSE & TECH  (https://www.jpost.com/tags/education) JPOST HIGHER EDUCATION  (https://www.jpost.com/opinion) OPINION  BUSINESS & INNOVATION      (https://realestate.jpost.com/) REAL ESTATE LISTINGS  (https://www.jpost.com/aliyah) ALIYAH  (https://www.jpost.com/conferences) JERUSALEM POST CONFERENCE  PREMIUM      (https://store.jpost.com/) JP STORE  Categories  ISRAEL NEWS      WORLD NEWS      MIDDLE EAST      (https://www.jpost.com/american-politics) US POLITICS  DIASPORA      (https://www.jpost.com/opinion) OPINION  PODCAST      JUDAISM      (https://www.jpost.com/kabbalah) KABBALAH  CHRISTIAN WORLD      HEALTH & WELLNESS      (https://www.jpost.com/science) SCIENCE  (https://www.jpost.com/law) LAW  ARCHAEOLOGY      (https://www.jpost.com/omg) OMG  (https://www.jpost.com/environment-and-climate-change) ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE  (https://www.jpost.com/food-recipes) FOOD & RECIPES  (https://www.jpost.com/history) HISTORY   (https://www.jpost.com/special-content) SPONSORED CONTENT  (https://www.jpost.com/advertise) ADVERTISE WITH US  (https://www.jpost.com/landedpages/termsofservice.aspx) TERMS OF USE  (https://www.jpost.com/landedpages/privacypolicy.aspx) PRIVACY POLICY  (https://www.jpost.com/contactus) CONTACT US  (https://www.jpost.com/customer-service/cancel-subscription) CANCEL SUBSCRIPTION  (https://www.jpost.com/customer-service) CUSTOMER SERVICE  (https://www.jpost.com/landedpages/aboutus.aspx) ABOUT US       (https://www.jpost.com/) Jerusalem Post /  (https://www.jpost.com/middle-east) Middle East /  (https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news) Iran News   Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site sees surge in construction activity, analysts say - report Analysts reported a surge in construction at Iran's deeply buried Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site as the US explores ways to strike underground facilities.  (Share)         (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=https://www.jpost.com/)      Follow us on Google     (A satellite image shows a closer view of a destroyed vehicle at the Pickaxe Mountain facility in Natanz, Iran, March 7, 2026.) (A satellite image shows a closer view of a destroyed vehicle at the Pickaxe Mountain facility in Natanz, Iran, March 7, 2026.)   A satellite image shows a closer view of a destroyed vehicle at the Pickaxe Mountain facility in Natanz, Iran, March 7, 2026. (photo credit: VANTOR/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS )    By (https://www.jpost.com/author/jerusalem-post-staff) JERUSALEM POST STAFF    SEPTEMBER 10, 2026 05:48  Updated:  SEPTEMBER 10, 2026 05:55   The Iranian nuclear site buried under (https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-907610) Pickaxe Mountain has seen an increased level of construction work over the last year, analysts reviewing satellite imagery shared with CNN on Wednesday.  Construction at the site, analysts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank told CNN, "has shifted from active excavation toward probably internal construction and continued exterior reinforcement.”   The site has seen "more road activity," as well as "raising and hardening of the (tunnel) portal accesses, paving of the internal road network, reinforcement around access areas, and the flattening and removal" of excavated dirt.  According to CSIS, the site has likely been designed to be a safe haven for Iran's nuclear program, CNN reported.  CSIS analysts said that the site could serve as a centrifuge assembly facility, an enrichment facility, or other "nuclear-weapons-relevant" work. However, based on the continuous construction, the analysis estimated that the site “is not yet capable of enrichment work, if that is the intended purpose.”   (A satellite view shows tunnel entrances at Pickaxe Mountain, of the Natanz nuclear facility, near Natanz, Iran, June 30, 2026.)  A satellite view shows tunnel entrances at Pickaxe Mountain, of the Natanz nuclear facility, near Natanz, Iran, June 30, 2026. (credit: VANTOR/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)    A source familiar with the matter told CNN that the United States had considered Pickaxe Mountain one of the potential targets if the war against Iran escalated in the last several months.  One source said that the Defense Department had recently held a "planning sprint" on the topic of strikes against (https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-887125) Iranian underground facilities , including Pickaxe Mountain.  US explores options for striking deeply buried Iranian sites  Pickaxe Mountain could prove difficult to strike with existing US non-nuclear bombs due to the granite surrounding the underground facility, according to the CSIS analysis cited by CNN.   Four days before the (https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-908082) US launched Operation Epic Fury , a Defense Threat Reduction Agency program manager signed an emergency $1.2 million contract justification for repairs to an underground test facility at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, CNN reported.  The document referred to preparations for a live-fire test of classified capabilities and said the work needed to be completed within two to three weeks due to a "time-sensitive national security directive."   Three sources told CNN that the planned test was connected to the Iran war and efforts to develop ways of targeting Iran's deepest underground facilities.  CNN said it could not independently verify whether the test occurred or confirm the purpose of activity observed at the White Sands site.  US developing next-generation penetrator  The US struck Iranian nuclear sites during (https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-907869) Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025 . A top US general later told lawmakers that only the entrances to the deeply buried Isfahan nuclear site were buried because the Pentagon believed its Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs could not destroy the facility, CNN reported.  The US military is also developing a successor to the Massive Ordnance Penetrator that could potentially target more deeply buried facilities.  A prototype contract was awarded in September 2025, and the Air Force sought defense industry sources for the weapon in June, CNN reported.  CNN also reported that the US maintains operational plans to strike Pickaxe Mountain. The site was included in a target package considered earlier this summer, although it remains unclear whether existing US munitions could penetrate deeply enough to destroy what Iran may have moved underground.    The Midnight Dispatch The one email that makes sense of the Middle East. Iran, the Gulf, Syria, Turkey, and whatever moved that day, from The Jerusalem Post, every evening.  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