Intense Iranian activity in Jabal al-Fas; Washington conducts bombing tests on it
Washington, Agencies: Satellite imagery has revealed intense activity inside what is suspected to be an underground nuclear site in the Kuh-e-Fars region of Iran, according to a report published by the American CNN network. This comes as the United States threatens to strike Kuh-e-Fars in an effort to destroy Iranian nuclear facilities buried deep underground. The network stated that a suspected Iranian nuclear site, buried beneath granite rock, has seen intensive construction activity this year, based on satellite images captured over a six-year period. Kuh-e-Fars is located near the Natanz nuclear complex, approximately 140 miles south of Tehran, and Washington considers it a potential site where Iran seeks to protect its future nuclear program efforts.
The network cited an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which suggested that the facility at Kuh-e-Fars is designed to serve one of three purposes, all related to Iran’s nuclear program. The analysis indicated that construction work at the site “has shifted from active excavation to what is likely ongoing internal construction and external reinforcements.” The network reported, citing the center’s analysis of the images, that the site has seen “unprecedented activity in road traffic,” with additional works including “raising and fortifying tunnel entrances, paving the internal road network, reinforcing areas surrounding the entrances, and leveling and removing debris” extracted during tunnel excavation.
The network quoted the research center, which reviewed the images, as saying that Kuh-e-Fars represents “a target that is difficult to destroy, even using the most powerful non-nuclear bombs in the Pentagon’s arsenal.” Moreover, this site is not the only Iranian nuclear facility feared to be beyond the reach of current-generation weapons. According to the network, the U.S. military is developing a “next-generation” bunker-buster bomb to replace the current bomb known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), capable of striking targets buried at greater depths. A contract was awarded in September 2025 to begin work on a prototype, and the Air Force requested proposals from defense industry companies in June to develop the new weapon.
