US think tank sees renewed activity at Iranian nuclear site
Satellite images show vehicles and earthworks at Minzadayi, a complex Israel struck in March. It is a think tank's reading, not an official confirmation.
A Washington think tank that tracks Iran's nuclear program, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), on Tuesday published a report with satellite images of Minzadayi, a complex northeast of Tehran. Israel struck it on March 3.
The photos, taken between September and the first days of October, show vehicle traffic has returned after debris was cleared and the hillside repaired, according to the authors. Cars are parked outside the security perimeter and trucks are inside. In a courtyard with several craters from March, earthmoving is visible.
Their conclusion: the activity "may be indicative of an effort" by Iran to reestablish a nuclear weapons development capability. It is an interpretation made from above: the photos show the surface and say nothing about what happens inside the complex. The Times of Israel and other outlets repeat the same report, so they count as a single source.
Neither Iran, Israel, the United States nor the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, had responded to the report in the coverage reviewed.
The Israeli military has described Minzadayi as a site created to recover the necessary technology and advance nuclear weapons capabilities, as ISIS cites it. The institute had already documented work at other Iranian sites, including one near Natanz.
The report comes as Washington and Tehran exchange messages through mediators. US Vice President JD Vance told Reuters the same day that, to end the war, Tehran has to cut its uranium enrichment notably. His argument: if Tehran does not want a nuclear weapon, it does not need fuel enriched to 60%.
Still pending are a response from the governments and the IAEA, and independent confirmation of what is happening at the site.
