A satellite image shows a Pickaxe Mountain tunnel complex near the Natanz nuclear site in central Iran. AFPInfoSatellite images reveal vast underground site – and it could be beyond reach of American bunker-buster bombs
Pickaxe Mountain, known in Farsi as Kuh-e Kolang, is a suspected underground nuclear complex buried up to 600 metres beneath granite in central Iran.
The facility, near the Natanz enrichment site, is believed to have been under construction since around 2020 and is designed for concealment and protection.
Iran describes the site as a centrifuge assembly plant, though UN inspectors have not been granted access to fully verify its purpose.
A ceasefire established on April 8 has been repeatedly tested, with US forces conducting strikes on Iran for a third consecutive night amid rising tensions.
