Iran Shifts Nuclear Focus Underground as China Helps Rebuild Missile Arsenal Despite UN Sanctions

Key Facts

Published: October 30, 2025 Location: Washington D.C. Source: CSIS, AP, Reuters, Israel Hayom, Jerusalem Post, Wire Services

• Satellite imagery shows Iran’s main enrichment sites remain unrepaired after U.S.-Israeli airstrikes.
• Tehran expanding activity at secret underground site “Pickaxe Mountain” north of Isfahan.
• China has shipped 2,000 tons of sodium perchlorate to Iran for solid-fuel missile production.
• Experts warn Iran could produce up to 500 new ballistic missiles despite U.N. sanctions.

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

WASHINGTON D.C. (Worthy News) – Newly released satellite imagery shows Iran has made little effort to restore its bombed nuclear enrichment facilities nearly four months after coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes — instead redirecting resources toward a hidden site north of Isfahan, even as Beijing helps Tehran replenish its ballistic missile stockpile in defiance of United Nations sanctions.

According to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the destroyed uranium enrichment facilities at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan remain largely unrepaired. Analysts say the images confirm that June’s airstrikes — which Israel launched first, followed by U.S. B-2 bombers striking underground bunkers — successfully halted Iran’s uranium enrichment program.

“The attacks effectively froze enrichment activity,” CSIS researchers wrote, warning that Tehran’s renewed activity at a site known as Pickaxe Mountain may signal the development of a new covert enrichment complex. Initially constructed in 2020 as a centrifuge assembly hall, the site now shows expanded tunneling and infrastructure consistent with nuclear-related work.

“Regardless of the true explanation, the main takeaway is the renewed need for greater transparency into Iran’s nuclear activities and ambitions,” the report said, urging the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to regain access.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi told reporters at the United Nations that large quantities of 60%-enriched uranium remain inside Iran. “We need to confirm that the material is there and it’s not being diverted to any other use,” he said.

Tehran has expelled most independent inspectors since the strikes and has threatened to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty if Western powers continue to pressure its nuclear program. U.S. and Israeli officials warn that any such move would likely trigger further military action.

China-Iran Cooperation on Missile Production

Even as its nuclear program stalls, Iran is rapidly rebuilding its ballistic missile infrastructure–this time with Chinese assistance. European intelligence officials told CNN that multiple cargo shipments containing 2,000 tons of sodium perchlorate, a key ingredient for solid rocket fuel, have arrived at Bandar Abbas since late September, despite the U.N.’s “snapback” sanctions banning all missile-related trade.

Satellite images show reconstruction at two Iranian solid propellant plants destroyed during the July “12-Day War” with Israel. The facilities, previously housing heavy-duty Chinese-built mixers for producing missile fuel, are being rebuilt.

Jeffrey Lewis, a nonproliferation expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said the recent chemical deliveries could enable Iran to manufacture up to 500 new ballistic missiles, enough to replenish its depleted arsenal. “Iran needs much more sodium perchlorate now to replace the missiles expended in the war and to increase production,” he said.

China’s Foreign Ministry denied knowledge of the transfers, claiming it “consistently implements export controls on dual-use items,” while reaffirming its opposition to new sanctions. Beijing and Moscow have jointly challenged the legitimacy of the U.N.’s renewed restrictions, calling them “legally and procedurally flawed.”

Strategic Implications

The dual track — underground nuclear expansion and rapid missile rebuilding — poses a renewed challenge for Washington and Jerusalem. Analysts warn that Iran’s covert construction and foreign-supplied materials could shorten its “breakout time” if enrichment resumes.

With formal nuclear negotiations frozen since June’s strikes and the Pickaxe Mountain project advancing underground, Western intelligence officials say Iran’s shift from transparency to concealment marks a new and dangerous phase in its atomic ambitions.

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