A prominent U.S. research organization focused on Iran’s nuclear activities raised concerns this week about an uninspected underground facility the regime has built in the Zagros Mountains.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not been permitted to access the clandestine location, referred to as Pickaxe Mountain.
The heavily protected site is fueling new questions about whether Tehran intends to comply with the memorandum of understanding (MOU) reached with the Trump administration. On Feb. 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury, aimed at Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure.
Analysts at the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) say Iran could demonstrate good faith by stopping activity at Pickaxe Mountain and granting IAEA inspectors access, offering a test of whether the regime is ready to move away from what critics describe as a long record of concealment.
A satellite image shows an overview of the Pickaxe Mountain tunnel complex in Natanz. (Vantor/Handout via Reuters)
Iran has relied on sites at Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan for uranium enrichment, a central component in the development of a nuclear weapons capability.
Faragasso said, “If Iran is serious about negotiating, it should halt construction at Pickaxe Mountain as a token of good faith. But what can be expected from a regime as brutal and conniving as Iran’s?”
The institute also published an in-depth review of fresh satellite images from late June 2026 that appeared to show ongoing work at Pickaxe Mountain.
Vice President JD Vance prior to a meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar at the Bürgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, June 21, 2026. (Fabrice Coffrini/Keystone via AP)
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The institute wrote that “at Pickaxe Mountain, vehicle activity can be seen on the roads leading to the open set of Western tunnel portals, indicating that construction inside the tunnel complex, as well as hardening of the tunnel entrance, are ongoing. The MOU signed between the United States and Iran requires that Iran maintain the status quo, which should prohibit construction at any nuclear-related facility, including Pickaxe Mountain.”
In late June, the IAEA declined to answer a detailed News Agency query on whether it would seek access to the Pickaxe Mountain facility. According to the satellite imagery obtained by the institute, “at Natanz, little activity can be seen. The access points to the below-ground enrichment halls have not been repaired.
“The personnel entrances remain destroyed, and vehicle entrances remain severely damaged. A single vehicle can be seen on the road outside of the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP), which was destroyed in June 2025 but was later covered by Iran.”
As U.S.-Iran talks opened Sunday in Switzerland, and a dispute over who controls and monitors billions of dollars in potentially unfrozen Iranian assets emerged. (Fabrice Coffrini/Pool via Reuters)
The institute also reported, “As of June 29, 2026, there is no observed activity at Esfahan. The tunnel portals remain backfilled with dirt.” ISIS tracked developments at the Fordow site, buried inside a mountain north of the holy Islamic city of Qom.
“At Fordow, as earlier reported by the Institute, between May 10 and May 18, Iran added passive defensive measures in the form of earthen/rocky mounds and other objects on the roads leading to the tunnel entrances. The alternating placements of the piles/objects are very precise, which creates a series of chicanes, indicating they are not intended as obstructions but rather to prevent rapid ingress and egress by any vehicle toward the tunnels.”
The institute added, “The June 21 Vantor image shows that the objects along the road remain there. The tunnel portals also remain backfilled with dirt” at Fordow.
News Agency sent questions to the State Department and the Iranian Mission to the United Nations.
