IAEA's Grossi says Iranian Pickaxe Mountain seeing new construction activity - report

Jerusalem Post/Middle East/Iran NewsOn Friday, US President Donald Trump threatened that he may soon order strikes against the site, with the US military currently developing a new bunker-buster munition for the task.Follow us on GoogleDirector-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi speaks during a press conference after the Board of Governor's Meeting at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria on September 7, 2026.(photo credit: Joe Klamar / AFP via Getty Images)SEPTEMBER 10, 2026 17:52Updated: SEPTEMBER 10, 2026 18:00Satellite imagery has picked up construction activity at Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday.According to Grossi, the IAEA has not yet inspected the fortified underground site, which sits just south of Tehran's Natanz uranium-enrichment plant.Grossi's comments follow a CNN report earlier on Thursday, which published images allegedly showing the construction activity at the tunnel complex.The report cited analysts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank, who said the activity at the site "has shifted from active excavation toward probably internal construction and continued exterior reinforcement.”The CSIS analysts note that, according ot the imagery, the site “is not yet capable of enrichment work, if that is the intended purpose.”A satellite image shows a closer view of a destroyed vehicle at the Pickaxe Mountain facility in Natanz, Iran, March 7, 2026. (credit: VANTOR/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)Trump threatens to bomb site as US develops new weapon for taskOn Friday, US President Donald Trump threatened that he may soon order strikes against the site, with the US military currently developing a new bunker-buster munition that could potentially target more deeply buried facilities.CNN reported that the US awarded a prototype contract for the new munition, which would succeed the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), in September 2025.Reuters contributed to this report.Follow us on Google