Satellite imagery has captured new construction activities at two Iranian nuclear facilities targeted in last year’s strikes by Israel and the United States, fueling concerns that Tehran may be attempting to conceal efforts to recover sensitive materials and obscure damage assessments.
Images obtained by Planet Labs PBC show new roofs being installed over structures at Iran’s Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. These developments mark the first significant visible activity at Iran’s bombed nuclear facilities since the escalation in June, when Israel and the U.S. carried out coordinated strikes.
The newly added coverings serve to obstruct satellite surveillance, raising alarms amid Iran’s continued refusal to allow international inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to the sites. As a result, remote monitoring remains Iran’s primary means of oversight, according to the Associated Press.
Experts suggest the structures are unlikely to indicate reconstruction but rather aim to hide salvage operations. Andrea Stricker of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies noted that “they want to access recovered assets without Israel or the United States seeing what has survived,” adding the roofs may help Iran assess whether key assets, such as highly enriched uranium, remain intact.
Before the June strikes, Iran operated three major nuclear sites: Natanz, which housed advanced centrifuges enriching uranium up to 60%; Isfahan, where uranium gas was produced; and Fordo, a subterranean facility beneath a mountain. Israel targeted Natanz early in the conflict, destroying the main above-ground enrichment plant, while U.S. strikes targeted underground halls afterward.
Satellite images reveal Iran began constructing a roof over the damaged Natanz structure in December, completing it by month’s end. Despite the repairs, reports indicate the facility’s electrical systems remain disabled. Additional imagery shows ongoing excavation near Natanz at a site called Pickaxe Mountain, where analysts believe Iran may be building a new underground nuclear facility.
At Isfahan, Iran completed a similar roof in early January over a damaged structure linked to centrifuge manufacturing. The Israeli military has previously indicated strikes at Isfahan targeted related facilities but has not commented on the new construction.
Other satellite images depict tunnels near Isfahan being filled with dirt—an Iranian defensive measure prior to the strikes—though one tunnel appears to have been reopened and reinforced. Experts, including Sarah Burkhard of the Institute for Science and International Security, suggest these roofs are likely intended to recover and hide remaining assets or rubble without revealing their contents.
Similarly, imagery indicates Iran is rapidly rebuilding sites associated with its ballistic missile program, including at the Parchin military complex and a site called Taleghan 2, which analysts associate with high-explosive testing related to nuclear weapons development. Lewis Smart of Janes noted that the site is being expanded to enhance its resistance to attacks.
Though Iran maintains its nuclear activities are peaceful, Western governments and the IAEA contend that Tehran previously operated a clandestine weapons program until 2003 and retains the technical capacity to pursue nuclear weapons.