New satellite images from Maxar Technologies reveal Iran has initiated repair efforts at its Fordow nuclear facility, targeted last week by US airstrikes. Excavators and bulldozers are visible near bomb craters, suggesting immediate attempts to restore access and assess damage.
New satellite images, captured on Friday by US commercial satellite imaging company Maxar Technologies and obtained by Business Insider, reveal significant construction activity at Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility, a key site targeted in US airstrikes last week.
The images document new activity near the tunnel entrances and where heavy US bombs struck Fordow. Specifically, one image shows excavators and bulldozers apparently moving dirt near craters and holes on the northern mountain ridge at Fordow.
Other images capture what looks like construction equipment digging new access roads to the facility, as well as engaging in efforts to repair damage on the main access road. This suggests immediate efforts to repair damage and establish new access routes.
The strikes, dubbed “Operation Midnight Hammer,” utilized GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker-busters, dropped sequentially down exhaust shafts to penetrate the deep underground complex. The Pentagon stated these were the main strike points.
While US President Donald Trump declared the facilities “completely obliterated” and Israel assessed a setback of years, the full extent of damage to Iran’s nuclear program, its stockpiles of enriched uranium, and equipment remains under assessment.
On Thursday, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi stated that the that the centrifuges at the Fordow plant are “no longer operational” and that the facilities have “suffered enormous damage.”
Grossi, while cautioning against claims of total “annihilation,” affirmed to Radio France Internationale that “we already know that these centrifuges are no longer operational” and that there is “very, very, very considerable damage.”
He noted that the precision required for centrifuges makes them highly sensitive to vibrations, leading to the conclusion that “there was no escaping significant physical damage.”
The IAEA chief refrained from specifying the exact setback to Iran’s nuclear program but confirmed that “with these reduced capacities, it will be much more difficult for Iran to continue at the same pace as before.”
Trump’s stance that Iran’s nuclear facilities were obliterated in the weekend strikes has been echoed by CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Caine also held a briefing on Thursday to counter doubts about the strikes’ impact.
