(Image from AFP PHOTO / SATELLITE IMAGE ©2026 VANTOR)
A US research institute has revealed that Iran is building a new secret nuclear facility at Pickaxe Mountain, while the United States is simultaneously developing a new generation of penetrating weapons to breach Iran’s underground secret bases.
According to a CNN report on 9 Sep 2026 GMT+7, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) disclosed that analysis of satellite images shows Iran constructing an additional secret nuclear facility beneath the granite mountain known as "Pickaxe Mountain." Meanwhile, evidence indicates that the US military is intensifying testing and development of new weapons designed to strike deep underground targets that conventional bunker-busting bombs cannot destroy.
CSIS stated that the new secret nuclear facility is undergoing modifications focusing on interior finishing, reinforcing tunnel entrances, and adjusting transportation routes. It is believed to be designed as a secure area for assembling centrifuges or enhancing uranium enrichment capabilities.
However, CSIS assesses that the site is not yet ready for uranium enrichment enhancement.
Regarding US policy, President Donald Trump has threatened to strike this nuclear facility soon. Nevertheless, the thick granite rock formation makes it a difficult target to destroy, even with the heaviest bunker-busting bomb currently available, the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).
During Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025, the US was only able to bomb and seal the entrance to the Isfahan nuclear facility, as it could not penetrate the underground structure.
The US Department of Defense, or Pentagon, approved an urgent $1.2 million contract before the Iran conflict to repair and prepare an underground granite rock testing site at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Sources say these tests will use live weapons to simulate attacks specifically on Iran’s deep underground nuclear facilities.
Additionally, the US military is accelerating development of the "next-generation penetrating bomb" to replace the current MOP model for destroying even deeper underground targets.
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Source:cnn