Israeli intelligence sources believe Iran transferred thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges into a fortified underground complex near Natanz after last year’s attacks, raising new concerns about nuclear activity beyond international inspection.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Israeli intelligence officials believe Iran moved thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges into tunnels buried hundreds of feet beneath Pickaxe Mountain following last year’s attacks on the country’s principal nuclear facilities, according to information shared with the United States.
The underground site sits about one mile south of Iran’s Natanz nuclear complex and is known inside Iran as Mount Kolang. Israeli sources said the centrifuges were concealed there after Operation Midnight Hammer and the Twelve-Day War, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Pickaxe Mountain has been monitored by the United States and Israel but has not been opened to inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran has also not provided the agency with detailed information about the work underway at the site or its intended nuclear role.
The reported transfer would place a substantial number of centrifuges inside one of Iran’s most heavily protected underground facilities, potentially preserving enrichment equipment after attacks damaged other parts of the country’s nuclear infrastructure.
It remains unclear where the centrifuges allegedly moved into Pickaxe Mountain originated. Spare machines may have been stored at Iran’s principal nuclear facilities, including Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.
President Donald Trump said after last summer’s strikes that Iran’s nuclear capabilities at the Fordow Uranium Enrichment Plant, the Natanz Nuclear Facility and the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center had been “obliterated.”
The reported movement of centrifuges into Pickaxe Mountain would raise questions about whether Iran retained equipment outside the principal facilities struck during the operation or transferred machinery into the underground site before additional attacks could occur.
Trump said earlier this month that the United States was prepared to strike Pickaxe Mountain if necessary.
During an interview with conservative broadcaster Hugh Hewitt, Trump called the site a “possible target for a nice big fat shot.”
Trump had not previously identified Pickaxe Mountain by name as a potential target, although he had referred publicly to an Iranian underground facility constructed beneath granite.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has advocated broader military action against Iran aimed at weakening the country’s weapons programs. Pickaxe Mountain, however, has not been struck during the current conflict, which began Feb. 28.
An Israeli military official familiar with targeting decisions expressed concern that the air campaign had not yet struck work connected to Iran’s potential nuclear weapons capabilities.
Iran has repeatedly denied that it is attempting to develop a nuclear weapon.
The country has nevertheless accumulated approximately 1,000 pounds of uranium enriched to 60%, a level significantly above that required for civilian energy production and closer to weapons-grade enrichment.
Centrifuges are used to increase the concentration of uranium-235 by spinning uranium gas at extremely high speeds. Large cascades of advanced machines can shorten the amount of time required to produce highly enriched uranium.
The presence of thousands of centrifuges inside a deeply buried, uninspected complex would therefore be significant even if the machines were not operating.
Pickaxe Mountain was commissioned after a 2020 explosion damaged an Iranian centrifuge assembly facility. That blast was widely believed to have resulted from sabotage.
Iran subsequently began constructing a replacement complex inside the mountain, taking advantage of the site’s depth and surrounding rock to protect it from aerial attack.
The tunnels are estimated to lie approximately 300 to 450 feet below solid rock. The underground area is believed to be large enough to accommodate several separate nuclear facilities.
Satellite analysis has shown continued work at the complex, including excavation, tunnel reinforcement and the construction of security infrastructure.
The Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington-based organization focused on nuclear proliferation, reported that activity has continued at Pickaxe Mountain for approximately 15 months.
The work has included the establishment of a security perimeter and improvements to reinforced tunnel entrances.
Construction has also occurred near an older network of tunnels dating to 2007. Iran later sealed that portion of the underground system.
David Albright, president of the institute, said “it is plausible that Iran moved centrifuges” into the Pickaxe tunnels.
His assessment did not independently confirm the Israeli intelligence claim but indicated that the reported transfer would be consistent with the facility’s design, construction history and continued activity.
The IAEA has sought greater clarity about Iran’s plans for the site.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in March that Iran informed the agency in 2021 of its “intention to have nuclear activity” at Pickaxe Mountain.
Iran has not, however, allowed inspectors to enter the complex or supplied sufficient information to verify what equipment has been installed there.
That absence of access leaves international inspectors unable to determine whether centrifuges have been stored, assembled or operated inside the tunnels.
The lack of transparency is especially concerning because of Iran’s history of carrying out nuclear-related work at facilities that were not initially declared to international monitors.
Nate Swanson, who served as a National Security Council director for Iran during the Biden administration, said activity inside an inaccessible underground complex must be treated seriously.
“A covert breakout is the worst-case scenario,” Swanson told The Wall Street Journal. “We don’t know what Iran’s intentions are, but the fact that we can’t verify this site underscores how problematic the status quo is. We have to have the IAEA in there to inspect these things.”
A covert breakout would involve Iran secretly moving toward weapons-grade uranium production at an undeclared or inaccessible site before inspectors or foreign intelligence agencies could detect and stop the effort.
No evidence presented in the report established that Iran is currently enriching uranium inside Pickaxe Mountain or that it has made a decision to produce a nuclear weapon.
The Israeli assessment instead centers on the alleged transfer and concealment of centrifuges, the scale of the underground site and Iran’s refusal to provide access.
The complex’s depth would make it a difficult military target. Facilities built hundreds of feet beneath rock may require specialized weapons, repeated strikes or other methods to damage equipment buried inside.
Trump’s public reference to a possible attack indicates that Pickaxe Mountain has entered the administration’s broader consideration of Iranian targets.
Any strike would carry substantial military and diplomatic consequences, particularly if the exact contents of the tunnels remain unverified.
The United States and Israel have continued monitoring the facility while assessing the extent to which last year’s attacks damaged Iran’s broader nuclear program.
The earlier strikes focused on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, which Trump described as having been destroyed. The reported presence of centrifuges at Pickaxe Mountain now places renewed attention on whether Iran dispersed key equipment into hardened sites before or after those attacks.
Iran’s refusal to grant IAEA access prevents inspectors from resolving the central questions surrounding the mountain.
Until the site is inspected or additional intelligence becomes available, it will remain uncertain whether the centrifuges are merely stored there, being assembled for future use or positioned for uranium enrichment.
The Israeli assessment has nevertheless heightened concerns that Iran may have preserved a substantial portion of its enrichment capacity inside a complex designed to withstand conventional airstrikes.
Pickaxe Mountain has not yet been targeted in the conflict, but Trump’s warning, Netanyahu’s call for broader attacks and the newly reported intelligence have placed the underground site at the center of the continuing confrontation over Iran’s nuclear program.
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