Iran At Work: Repairing Nuclear and Missile Sites

Satellite images analyzed by The New York Times show Iran repairing nuclear and missile sites. While Iran has made some small immediate repairs in the past, this is the first time Iran is repairing major nuclear sites that the United States and Israel struck last year.

One major site that Iran repaired is the Shahroud missile test facility. Established by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the facility was damaged by Israeli airstrikes in June of 2025. The facility is where space launch vehicles (SLV) are developed, tested, and launched. Its first successful project was in April of 2020, when Noor 1, its first military satellite, was launched.

When snow fell on the facility last month, it was quickly cleared from the roofs and walkways, suggesting that the site is being kept well-maintained and is active.

Sam Lair, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif, stated, “Shahroud is their largest and newest solid-propellant missile production plant. So it makes sense that it got all of the attention.”

It’s difficult to see what’s going on inside the buildings Iran has repaired, since roofs have been built over them. However, less than a mile from the Isfahan aboveground facility, an entrance to a nearby mountain tunnel complex was barricaded, leading some experts to believe that the mountains were being used as a secret enrichment facility. Similarly, in Pickaxe Mountains two miles away, tunnel entrances have also been heavily barricaded.