Satellite imagery shows concrete mixers and truck convoys at two Iranian military sites linked to past weapons work, raising doubts on the nuclear status-quo pledge

Satellite evidence of permanent repairs

Satellite imagery analysed by CNN and the Institute for Science and International Security points to the start of permanent repairs at the Taleghan military complex in Parchin. The site was hit multiple times at the beginning of the war. Early photos showed only debris clearance, but pictures captured in recent weeks reveal concrete mixers and other equipment brought in to seal blast craters, the institute reported. The complex housed work under the Amad programme, which the International Atomic Energy Agency says included high-explosive tests relevant to nuclear-weapon implosion simulation until 2003. Iran denies the programme ever existed.

Corresponding activities have been visible in recent weeks at the military complex in Parchin.

Second site shows tunnel traffic

CNN also identified repair indicators at Pickaxe Mountain, a facility built deep underground and associated with suspected nuclear and ballistic-missile development. Imagery from the past several weeks captured multiple trucks entering and exiting the tunnel network. The pattern is consistent with the delivery of construction material rather than routine logistics, according to the report. No excavation or new tunnelling has been spotted, only movement through existing access points.

Three key enrichment sites remain quiet

No suspicious activity has been detected at Isfahan, Natanz, or Fordow, the three locations the IAEA considers the most important uranium-storage and enrichment hubs. All three were bombed by the United States last summer. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated his administration is monitoring those sites meticulously since the strikes. CNN reported the absence of visible changes at the three facilities while noting that the new activity is concentrated at research and weaponisation-related sites rather than enrichment plants.

My administration is monitoring the locations meticulously ever since.

Framework agreement under strain

Tehran committed in a framework agreement with Washington to maintain the status quo on its nuclear programme as a condition for ending the war. Iran also pledged to forgo development of nuclear weapons. The repair work at Parchin and Pickaxe Mountain, if confirmed as reconstruction of previously damaged weapons-related infrastructure, would cut against that commitment. Iran’s government continues to deny any ambition to pursue nuclear arms.

Washington grows more sceptical

Senior US officials now consider a nuclear deal with Iran increasingly unlikely, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing high-ranking administration sources. The officials’ remarks to reporters were described as a rare admission that one of Trump’s central foreign-policy goals (curbing Iran’s atomic programme) may not be achievable through peace talks. No deadline for a return to negotiations has been set, and the Strait of Hormuz dispute remains a parallel friction point.