Iran Rebuilds, Fortifies Remaining Nuclear Sites To Defend Against Potential US Strike
The construction projects suggest Tehran has no intention of ending its nuclear program
Iranian air-defense system (AP)
Adam Kredo
February 20, 2026
Iran has spent the past several months fortifying two nuclear sites against an aerial strike and excavating areas the United States and Israel destroyed last June, according to recent satellite imagery analyzed by the Institute for Science and International Security.
The Islamic Republic has been burying its new Taleghan 2 facility at its Parchin military complex, under construction since May 2025, since at least September 2025. The activity has continued through February, with crews "visibly pouring fresh concrete" around the area and piling soil on top of a structure that likely contains sensitive equipment. Similar efforts are underway at the Esfahan nuclear complex, which the United States and Israel badly damaged in their strikes against the regime's nuclear program last year. Satellite photos from the end of January show the Islamic Republic "re-burying the southernmost and the middle entrances with soil."
The movement around these locations suggests that Iran is making preparations for another conflict with the United States and seeking to protect whatever remains of its nuclear sites after the U.S.-Israeli campaign last year. The evidence also indicates that Tehran's hardline regime has not scaled back its nuclear pursuits, defying President Donald Trump's statement that a good deal with Iran would mean "no nuclear weapons, no missiles."
"Collectively, these activities may cross President Trump's red line: that Iran must abandon uranium enrichment and nuclear weapons ambitions," Andrea Stricker, deputy director of the non-proliferation program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Washington Free Beacon. "Combined with Tehran's ongoing failure to address its missile program, support for terror, and domestic pressure, they could trigger new military strikes."
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https://freebeacon.com/national-security/iran-rebuilds-fortifies-remaining-nuclear-sites-to-defend-against-potential-us-strike/
