Iran Moves Thousands of Centrifuges Under 100-Meter Natanz Mountain as Strike Fears Persist
Updated
Updated · The Jerusalem Post · Jul 21
Iran Moves Thousands of Centrifuges Under 100-Meter Natanz Mountain as Strike Fears Persist
3 articles · Updated · The Jerusalem Post · Jul 21
Summary
Thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges were moved last fall into tunnels inside Natanz’s Pickaxe Mountain, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing US and Israeli officials.
The transfer followed the 12-day June 2025 war, when US and Israeli strikes hit three major Iranian nuclear sites, and officials say it appears aimed at preserving enrichment capacity through any future attack.
Satellite imagery shows the complex extends more than 100 meters below bedrock—deeper and more fortified than Fordow—and the tunnel facility was not hit in either war, making it difficult even for advanced US bunker-busting bombs to reach.
Iran says the mountain site is only for producing and assembling advanced centrifuges, but it has barred IAEA inspectors; Rafael Grossi said Tehran has not provided answers that could verify that claim or rule out nuclear material there.
The site’s apparent survivability has made it a central flashpoint with Washington, with President Donald Trump threatening to eliminate it while monitoring activity around the tunnel entrances.
Deep inside Pickaxe Mountain, is Iran building centrifuges or the atomic bomb itself?
With Iran's nuclear program now deeper underground, can military force still prevent a nuclear breakout?
Is Iran's control over global oil a more potent weapon than its hidden nuclear program?
Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain: The Unprecedented Challenge of Monitoring and Striking the World’s Deepest Nuclear Facility
Overview
In June 2025, the world learned about Iran’s secretive Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility, which was built deep underground near Natanz. Its hidden construction and massive scale quickly raised alarms, intensifying global concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. When questioned by the IAEA, Iran responded defiantly, fueling suspicions about the site’s true purpose. Analysts called the facility’s location and size highly suspicious, and its secrecy became a major point of contention. As a result, Pickaxe Mountain was seen as an immediate threat to regional stability and international efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation.