Tehran Fortifies Pickaxe Mountain to Rebuild Nuclear Program After 3 Rounds of War
Updated
Updated · JINSA · Jul 24
Tehran Fortifies Pickaxe Mountain to Rebuild Nuclear Program After 3 Rounds of War
3 articles · Updated · JINSA · Jul 24
Summary
Pickaxe Mountain has emerged as Iran’s main backup site for enrichment-related work, with recent fortification reinforcing assessments that Tehran plans to rebuild key nuclear capabilities clandestinely.
Three rounds of conflict since October 2024 heavily damaged Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, but experts say the program was set back—not obliterated—and Iran likely still aims to restore centrifuge production, uranium conversion, enrichment and stockpiling.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said inspectors cannot fully account for Iran’s uranium stockpiles, centrifuges and related capabilities, adding to concern that covert reconstruction could evade detection.
Western planners are being urged to judge Iran through three decades of concealment and focus less on whether it can rebuild than on how fast it can do so and whether it can be detected in time.