Satellite images show new coverings at Iran nuclear sites, raising alarm

Satellite imagery from Planet Labs PBC dated Dec. 3, 2025 and Jan. 28, 2026 shows new construction at Iran’s Natanz and Isfahan nuclear complexes that experts say is likely intended to obscure recovery work after last year’s strikes. At Natanz the image shows rubble at the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant and new roofs over damaged structures; at Isfahan imagery shows a newly completed roof over a building near the facility’s northeast corner and tunnel entrances that have been packed or refashioned.

Specialists at the Institute for Science and International Security and at the open-source intelligence firm Janes characterize the measures as concealment rather than straightforward rebuilding. Sarah Burkhard, a senior research associate at the Institute for Science and International Security, said the roofs appear designed to “recover any sort of remaining assets or rubble without letting us know what they are getting out of there.” Sean O’Connor of Janes said the aim was likely “to obscure activity rather than to, say, repair or rebuild a structure for use.”

The roofing and the filling of mountain tunnels complicate optical satellite monitoring and, according to analysts, are the first major, visible activity at those struck facilities since the intense fighting in June. The International Atomic Energy Agency did not respond to requests for comment, and Iran has not publicly discussed the work.

The images come amid renewed scrutiny of a separate site at Parchin that the Institute for Science and International Security has identified as “Taleghan 2.” Israel destroyed that facility in an airstrike in October 2024, and an archive of Iranian nuclear data seized by Israel has been cited as identifying the Parchin building as housing an explosive chamber and a specialized X-ray system to study explosive tests. Those systems, the archive material suggests, are relevant to research on compressing a core of uranium with explosives, a technique associated with implosion-style nuclear weapons.

Israel and the United States carried out strikes on Iranian facilities last year; the Israel Defense Forces stated that a June strike on Isfahan “dismantled a facility for producing metallic uranium, infrastructure for reconverting enriched uranium, laboratories, and additional infrastructure.” U.S. strikes that followed have been reported to have used bunker-busting munitions and Tomahawk cruise missiles. The United States has also escalated sanctions on Iranian officials amid Tehran’s domestic crackdown on protests, and the U.S. president has warned of a “massive Armada” heading toward the region while senior U.S. officials say forces are “prepared to deliver whatever the president expects.”

Beyond the immediate proliferation concerns, the imagery has market and policy implications. Hardening and concealment of sensitive sites raise uncertainty over inspectors’ ability to verify past programs and would likely increase geopolitical risk premiums. Energy markets respond to such uncertainty through higher insurance costs for shipping in the Gulf and intermittent upward pressure on oil and gas prices; financial sanctions and tightening of secondary payments channels would also raise costs for firms doing business in the region. For investors, the combination of kinetic strikes, covert recovery efforts and restricted inspections signals rising sovereign and operational risk for regional assets.

Longer term, analysts warn, the pattern of targeted strikes followed by rapid concealment could erode the effectiveness of satellite verification alone and force renewed diplomatic and technical measures to preserve nonproliferation oversight. Key open questions remain about what precisely is being covered, whether salvage is aimed at removing sensitive materials, and whether inspectors will be allowed access to confirm activity on the ground.