Satellite imagery analyzed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) indicates a significant increase in construction activity at the underground Mount Makosh site near Natanz, which researchers assess may be intended as a protected space for uranium enrichment; according to intelligence assessments, Tehran could move centrifuges there to safeguard its future nuclear program. President Donald Trump said Washington is tracking all activity in the area and again threatened a strike, saying the US “may soon attack” the site. The CSIS analysis adds that the mountain's hard granite layers would make the facility a difficult target even for the heaviest US non-nuclear bombs.
Satellite imagery analyzed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) points to a marked increase in construction activity at Mount Makosh, the suspected underground nuclear site near Natanz, during the war between Iran and the United States. CSIS researchers assess the site may be designed to serve as a protected space for uranium-enrichment activity, and, according to intelligence assessments, Tehran could transfer centrifuges there to safeguard its future nuclear program.
President Donald Trump said Washington is tracking all activity in the area and again threatened a strike, saying the US “may soon attack” the Mount Makosh site. The analysis notes, however, that the mountain's hard granite layers would make the facility a challenging target even for the heaviest non-nuclear bombs in the US arsenal.
Mount Makosh has become a focus of US and Israeli concern over Iran's nuclear program in recent months. The Zioneer has previously reported assessments that Tehran moved thousands of centrifuges into the fortified site, and that Trump repeatedly threatened to strike it. The new CSIS analysis provides an updated open-source picture of continued work at the site.
The findings are an assessment based on satellite imagery rather than direct on-the-ground verification, and the report does not state a timeframe for any potential US strike.
5 developments
- StrongThe Zioneer: Mount Machush — a secret nuclear site inspectors never visited, one of the hardest aerial targets
- StrongSatellite imagery reveals construction activity at Iran's secret underground nuclear facility near Natanz
- DevelopingChannel 14 investigation describes Mount Makosh as Iran's most important nuclear asset
- DevelopingCNN: US military prepared strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, including Mount Makosh
Source and signal
- Open-source intake