Pickaxe Mountain: Iran’s Deep Underground Site and U.S. Efforts to Develop Counter-Strike Capability

Satellite imagery reviewed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies shows a “clear surge in construction activity” at Pickaxe Mountain, a granite-encased underground complex about 2 km south of the Natanz enrichment facility. 2026 images reveal road work, reinforced tunnel portals and internal paving, indicating a shift from digging to internal construction.

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At the same time, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) issued an emergency $1.2 million contract on February 27 to repair a “unique subterranean test facility” at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Excavation at the Alternate Seismic Hardrock In-Situ Test Site (Alt. SHIST) was observed February 16-18, with Pate Construction receiving the award on February 18. The test was described as a “live-fire” effort to validate capabilities against “rapidly emerging threats,” linked by sources to the Iran conflict.

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Pickaxe Mountain, also known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, was announced in 2020 by Ali Akbar Salehi as an underground centrifuge assembly facility after suspected Israeli sabotage at Natanz. Israeli intelligence alleges centrifuges were moved to the site in fall 2025, a claim CSIS analysts cannot confirm. The IAEA has requested access; President Masoud Pezeshkian dismissed satellite imagery on September 26 2025, calling for on-the-ground inspections that Tehran has not permitted.

Center for strategic and International studies

U.S. strikes in June 2025 (Operation Midnight Hammer) targeted other deep-buried sites, but officials said the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) could not reliably destroy the Isfahan bunker. Development of a “next-generation penetrator” began with a prototype contract in September 2025 and a solicitation in June 2025.

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• Construction footprint: 2026 road activity exceeds any prior year since 2020.

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• Distance from Natanz: ~2 km; depth: granite-encased, comparable to the White Sands test site.

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• Contract value for White Sands test facility: $1.2 million (DTRA).

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• Test-site activity: excavation observed February 16-18, work continued into mid-March 2026 before halting.

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• President Donald Trump warned, “We may hit Pickaxe very soon.”

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• A Pentagon program manager signed the emergency contract on February 27, citing a “time-sensitive national security directive.”

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• A source familiar with DoD planning reported a recent “planning sprint” focused on strike options for underground facilities.

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• Israeli intelligence claims centrifuge relocation; CSIS says it “can neither refute nor substantiate” the claim.

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• CNN could not independently verify whether the White Sands test occurred or its precise purpose.

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• Iranian officials have not responded to IAEA requests for site access, leaving the facility’s exact function unverified.

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• “We may hit Pickaxe very soon,” — Donald Trump, president

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The “planning sprint” suggests continued development of next-generation penetrator weapons in the coming months.

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