Foreign Relations

IAEA Detects Movement at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, Nuclear Work Unconfirmed

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Courtroom-sketch editorial illustration of an overhead view of a long construction portal and retaining walls beside a winding pale road in barren mountain terrain, with excavation areas and small construction vehicles, drawn in warm ochre and slate-blue pastel with cross-hatching on sepia newsprint.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi says remotely examined imagery shows new movement and construction activity around Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain complex, about 2 kilometers south of Natanz. He said inspectors have not entered the tunnel system, leaving the agency without concrete information about what may be occurring inside and unable to confirm nuclear activity. Iran began developing the fortified underground complex after the 2020 sabotage of its Natanz centrifuge workshop. The observed movement adds a new agency assessment while leaving the facility’s actual purpose unverified.

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