Satellite images show Iran repairing and fortifying sites amid tensions with US
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A satellite image showing tunnel entrances at Iran's Isfahan Nuclear Complex on Nov 11, 2024, before efforts to bury them.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Satellite images show that Iran has recently built a concrete shield over a new facility at a sensitive military site and covered it in soil, experts say, advancing work at a location reportedly bombed by Israel in 2024, amid tensions with the US
Images also show that Iran has buried tunnel entrances at a nuclear site bombed by the US during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in 2025
They offer a glimpse of Iranian activities at some of the sites at the centre of tensions with Israel and the US, as Washington seeks to negotiate a deal with Tehran
Parchin Military Complex
Some 30km south-east of Tehran, the Parchin complex is one of Iran’s most sensitive military sites. Western intelligence has suggested Tehran carried out tests relevant to nuclear bomb detonations there more than two decades ago.
Iran has always denied seeking atomic weapons.
Israel reportedly struck Parchin in October 2024.
Satellite imagery taken before and after that attack shows extensive damage to a rectangular building at Parchin, and apparent reconstruction in images from Nov 6, 2024.
Imagery from Oct 12, 2025, shows development at the site, with the skeleton of a new structure visible and two smaller structures adjacent to it. Progress is apparent in imagery from Nov 14, with what appears to be a metallic roof covering the large structure.
But imagery from Dec 13 shows the facility partly covered. By Feb 16, 2026, it could not be seen at all, hidden by what experts say is a concrete structure.
The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), in a Jan 22 analysis of satellite imagery, pointed to progress in the construction of a “concrete sarcophagus” around a newly built facility at the site, which it identified as Taleghan 2.
ISIS reported in November that imagery showed “ongoing construction and the presence of what appears to resemble a long, cylindrical chamber, maybe a high-explosives containment vessel, likely measuring approximately 36m long and 12m in diameter placed inside a building”.
“High-explosive containment vessels are critical to the development of nuclear weapons, but can also be used in many other conventional weapons development processes,” it said.
Mr William Goodhind, a forensic imagery analyst with Contested Ground, said the roof had a hue similar to the surrounding area, adding: “It has most likely been covered with dirt to obscure the concrete colour.”
ISIS founder David Albright wrote on X: “Stalling the negotiations has its benefits: Over the last two to three weeks, Iran has been busy burying the new Taleghan 2 facility... More soil is available and the facility may soon become a fully unrecognisable bunker, providing significant protection from aerial strikes.”
Tunnel entrances buried at Isfahan Nuclear Complex
A satellite image showing tunnel entrances covered with soil at Iran’s Isfahan Nuclear Complex on Feb 10.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The Isfahan complex is one of three Iranian uranium enrichment plants that were bombed by the US last June.
In addition to facilities that are part of the nuclear fuel cycle, Isfahan includes an underground area where diplomats say much of Iran’s enriched uranium has been stored.
Satellite images taken in late January showed new efforts to bury two tunnel entrances at the complex, ISIS reported on Jan 29. In a Feb 9 update, ISIS said a third entrance had also been backfilled with soil, meaning all entrances to the tunnel complex were now “completely buried”.
A Feb 10 image shows all three tunnels buried, Mr Goodhind said.
ISIS reported on Feb 9 that “backfilling the tunnel entrances would help dampen any potential air strike and also make ground access in a special forces raid to seize or destroy any highly enriched uranium that may be housed inside difficult”.
Tunnel entrances fortified at complex near Natanz site
ISIS has reported that satellite images point to ongoing efforts since Feb 10 to “harden and defensively strengthen” two entrances to a tunnel complex under a mountain some 2km from Natanz – the site that holds Iran’s other two uranium enrichment plants.
Imagery shows “ongoing activity throughout the complex related to this effort, involving the movement of numerous vehicles, including dump trucks, cement mixers and other heavy equipment”, ISIS wrote.
Iran’s plans for the facility, called Pickaxe Mountain, are unclear, ISIS said.
Shiraz South Missile Base
A satellite image showing Shiraz South Missile Base in Iran before reconstruction on July 3, 2025.
PHOTO: REUTERS
About 10km south of Shiraz in southern Iran, this is one of 25 primary bases capable of launching medium-range ballistic missiles, according to Alma Research and Education Center, an Israeli organisation.
Alma assessed that the site had suffered light above-ground damage in the 2025 war.
A comparison of images taken on July 3, 2025, and Jan 30, 2026, shows reconstruction and clearance efforts at the main logistics and likely command compound at the base, Mr Goodhind said.
“The key takeaway is that the compound has yet to return to its full operational capacity from prior to the air strikes.”
QOM Missile Base
Some 40km north of the city of Qom, this base suffered moderate above-ground damage, according to Alma.
A comparison of images taken between July 16, 2025 and Feb 1, 2026 shows a new roof over a damaged building.
The roof repairs appear to have begun on Nov 17 and were most likely complete 10 days later, Mr Goodhind said. REUTERS
