Satellite images show that Iran has built a new access road at its Fordo uranium enrichment site and moved in construction equipment that could be used to assess the damage to the main underground nuclear facility, caused by last month's US airstrike.
The images, taken over the weekend by Maxar Technologies, a commercial satellite company, show a new road winding up the mountain where the Fordo nuclear facility is located, along with several vehicles, including what analysts identified as an excavator and a mobile crane.
According to The Wall Street Journal, analysis of the photos by the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington-based nonprofit that tracks Iran's nuclear program, suggested that the excavator was likely preparing an entry point to insert cameras or personnel into the craters formed by the American bombs, in order to assess the extent of the damage to the underground site.
On June 22, US long-range bombers dropped 12 massive "bunker-buster" bombs on the facility. The ordnance used were the 13,000-kilogram Massive Ordnance Penetrators, designed to pierce deep into mountains before detonating underground. The craters left behind by the blasts are clearly visible in the satellite images.
The effectiveness of the operation remains a matter of debate. While US President Donald Trump maintained that the facility was completely destroyed, American intelligence assessments reportedly concluded that Iran's nuclear program was only set back by a few months.
