Iran adds new defenses at deeply buried nuclear site after Trump warns Islamic State not to ‘get cute’

Efrat Lachter / Fox News 

New satellite imagery shows Iran has added new defenses around tunnel entrances at Pickaxe Mountain, the deeply buried nuclear-linked site President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike, as Russia and China on Thursday vetoed a U.S.-drafted Security Council resolution aimed at preserving international monitoring of sanctions on Tehran.

The Institute for Science and International Security said in a report released Thursday that satellite imagery from Sept. 11 shows earthen roadblocks remain in place on roads leading to Pickaxe Mountain’s western tunnel portals near the Natanz nuclear complex. The institute said the continued restricted access reinforces its assessment that the facility is not currently being used for normal operations, while assessing that valuable equipment or materials remain inside.

The report also identified additional soil placed over one western tunnel portal and over a nearby cluster of entrances first built in 2007. The institute said the added soil increases the amount of earth protecting the entrances and helps harden them against aerial bombardment. Read more, and see photos here.