New satellite photographs indicate that Tehran has covered a facility at a vital military installation with a concrete buffer and a layer of soil, according to Reuters. Experts note that the work is advancing at a location targeted by Israel in 2024, a period of heightened friction with the US.
The Reuters report highlights that images also display the concealment of tunnel portals at a nuclear site previously hit by the US. Furthermore, Iran has strengthened access points to tunnels near another facility and has mended ballistic missile installations damaged in earlier fighting. These snapshots offer a look at Iranian maneuvers at locations central to the ongoing discord with the West. Washington continues to pursue a nuclear agreement with Tehran even as it suggests military action remains an option if negotiations fail.
Changes have been documented at several key Iranian sites. The Parchin Military Complex, situated 32 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of Tehran, remains a highly sensitive military zone. Western intelligence agencies have previously suggested the location was used for nuclear detonation testing decades ago. However, Iran continues to deny any pursuit of atomic weapons. Following a reported Israeli strike in October 2024, reconstruction efforts became visible. Images from November 6, 2024, showed the beginning of repairs to a rectangular building that had suffered heavy damage. By October 12, 2025, further progress was documented at the site. Reuters reported that a metal roof was added to a new central structure by mid-November.
However, subsequent imagery from February 16 shows the facility has vanished from view, encased in what specialists call a concrete structure. The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) described the construction as a "concrete sarcophagus" protecting the Taleghan 2 facility.
ISIS data shows "ongoing construction and the presence of what appears to resemble a long, cylindrical chamber, maybe a high-explosives containment vessel, likely measuring approximately 36 meters long and 12 meters in diameter, placed inside a building". While "High-explosive containment vessels are critical to the development of nuclear weapons," ISIS noted they "can also be used in many other conventional weapons development processes."
Analyst William Goodhind stated that the site was likely covered with earth to mask the concrete. He told Reuters, "It has most likely been covered with dirt to obscure the concrete color."
ISIS founder David Albright suggested on X that Tehran is exploiting diplomatic pauses: "Stalling the negotiations has its benefits: Over the last two to three weeks, Iran has been busy burying the new Taleghan 2 facility at the Parchin military complex with soil... More soil is available, and the facility may soon become a fully unrecognizable bunker, providing significant protection from aerial strikes."
The Isfahan Nuclear Complex, which houses uranium-enrichment facilities, was targeted by US airstrikes in June. The complex includes a sensitive underground area for storing enriched uranium. According to Reuters, ISIS reported in late January that efforts were underway to hide two tunnel entrances. By February 9, a third entrance was backfilled, leaving all portals "completely buried". Goodhind confirmed this status in a February 10 image.
ISIS explained that "backfilling the tunnel entrances would help dampen any potential airstrike and also make ground access in a special forces raid to seize or destroy any highly enriched uranium that may be housed inside difficult."
Since early February, work has been observed to "harden and defensively strengthen" two mountain tunnel entrances near the Natanz enrichment site, too, Reuters reported.
ISIS reported "ongoing activity throughout the complex related to this effort, involving the movement of numerous vehicles, including dump trucks, cement mixers, and other heavy equipment".
Near Shiraz, a primary missile launch base that sustained damage in last year's war is undergoing reconstruction, Reuters reported. Forensic analyst William Goodhind noted that while repairs are evident, "The key takeaway is that the compound has yet to return to its full operational capacity from prior to the airstrikes."
Finally, at a base north of Qom, roof repairs on a damaged building were completed in late November. Forensic imagery analyst William Goodhind noted that a comparison of photographs from July 16, 2025, and February 1 reveals a fresh roof atop a damaged structure, with restoration work apparently beginning on November 17 and finishing roughly 10 days later.
