Satellite imagery shows Iran expanding buried facility at Pickaxe Mountain near Natanz after June strikes

Satellite imagery shows Iran is increasing construction at a deeply buried site in "Pickaxe Mountain" just south of the Natanz nuclear facility, which was struck by Israeli and U.S. forces in June. The images indicate renewed activity at the underground complex that follows the earlier attacks.

Discovered 2025-09-26T07:38:58.100756-07:00 | 2025-09-26T07:38:58.100756-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

Confirms the growing role of commercial satellite data for tracking repairs and expansions at sensitive sites — see Orbital Sidekick's hyperspectral analysis of damage at a separate Iranian nuclear facility (https://hype.aero/?story=e0c5c79b-be7f-45c4-9738-fe203244f9d8).
Expansion at Pickaxe Mountain follows the Israeli and U.S. strikes in June and fits a pattern of reconstruction and hardened-site activity after attacks, underscored by the strike that damaged US infrastructure at Al Udeid Air Base (https://hype.aero/?story=ff7269b7-1448-48dc-ae2a-fe720c577c2d).
Parallel satellite-detected activity at Iranian launch and missile sites, including suspected testing at Imam Khomeini Spaceport, reinforces the need for persistent imagery to monitor proliferation risks and regional force posture (https://hype.aero/?story=3b7aafbb-b372-4f9d-adf3-0ea27f1dafb9).

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