Satellite photos show activity at Iran nuclear sites as tensions rise over crackdown on protests

As tensions rise Iran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protestssatellite images show activity in Two Iranian nuclear facilities bombed last year. by Israel and the United States, which may be a sign that Tehran is trying to conceal efforts to salvage any material left there.

Planet Labs PBC images show roofs being constructed over two damaged buildings at the Isfahan and Natanz facilities, the first major activity discernible by satellite at any of the country’s affected nuclear sites since Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in June.

Rooftops seen in Isfahan and Natanz

These covers prevent satellites from seeing what is happening on the ground; Right now, it’s the only way to inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor the sites, as Iran has prevented access.

The new roofs do not appear to be a sign of reconstruction beginning at the severely damaged facilities, said experts who examined the sites. Instead, they are likely part of Iran’s efforts “to assess whether key assets – such as limited stockpiles of highly enriched uranium – survived the attacks,” said Andrea Stricker, who studies Iran for the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which has been sanctioned by Tehran.

“They want to be able to access any recovered assets they can access without Israel or the United States seeing what survived,” he said.

The main above-ground enrichment building at Natanz was known as the Fuel Enrichment Pilot Plant. Israel attacked the building on June 13, leaving it “functionally destroyed” and “severely damaging” underground hallways containing cascades of centrifuges, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said at the time.

A subsequent US attack on June 22 hit the Natanz underground facilities with bunker-buster bombs. Grossi said “Take on the Nation with Margaret Brennan” That intelligence from Iran shows that subsequent US strikes caused “serious damage” but not “total damage.”

“Iran has the capabilities there; industrial and technological capabilities. So if they want, they can start doing this again,” Grossi said.

Planet Labs PBC images show that Iran began building a roof over the damaged plant in December. He completed work on the roof at the end of the month. Iran has not provided any public recognition for that work. Natanz’s electrical system still appears to be destroyed.

In Isfahan, Iran began building a similar roof on a structure near the northeast corner of the facility, finishing the work in early January. The exact function of that building is not publicly known, although the Israeli military at the time said its attacks in Isfahan targeted sites associated with centrifuge manufacturing. The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment on the construction.

Meanwhile, images show that two tunnels in a mountain near the Isfahan facility have been filled with soil, a measure against missile attacks that Iran also made just before the June war. A third tunnel appears to have been cleared of dirt, with a new set of walls built near the entrance as an apparent security measure.

Sarah Burkhard, a research associate at the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security who has long watched Iran’s nuclear sites, said the roofs appear to be part of an operation to “recover any sort of remaining assets or debris without letting us know what they’re getting out of there.”

Sean O’Connor, an expert at open source intelligence firm Janes, agreed that the goal was probably “to conceal the activity rather than, say, repair or rebuild a structure for use.”

Iran has not publicly discussed the activity at the two sites. The IAEA, a United Nations monitoring agency, did not respond to requests for comment.

US President Trump has repeatedly demanded that Iran negotiate a deal on its nuclear program to avoid the threat of US military attacks over the country’s crackdown on protesters. The United States has moved the USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided missile destroyers in the Middle East, but it is still unclear whether Trump will decide to use force.

Trump said earlier this month that the “army” of warships were heading toward Iran “just in case.”

The Lincoln was in the Pacific when the president first issued a warning on social media that the United States was “ready and prepared” to attack Iran if the regime killed anti-government protesters.

Since the demonstrations began, Human Rights Activists in Iran, a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization, estimates that more than 4,000 protesters have died so far and says that number is likely to rise. Two sources, including one inside Iran, told News themezone earlier this month that at least 12,000 and possibly as many as 20,000 people have been killed.