Iran has faced suspicion for decades over its nuclear ambitions and whether it’s developing the capability to fire an atomic weapon. It agreed to cap its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief in a landmark 2015 international deal.

The question of whether the US can destroy the Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility will partly be an intelligence race of who can outwit whom, matching offensive and defensive capabilities.

The following is the Feb. 9 2026, Congressional Research Service In Sight report, Iran’s Nuclear Program and UN Sanctions Reimposition. From the report UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015), which the council adopted on July 20,

Iranian representatives offered to transfer its highly enriched uranium to Russia during the first round of talks with the United States in Oman on February 6. The country is also ready to suspend the enrichment process for a few years. The Wall Street Journal reports The Wall Street Journal.

Repairs at key missile sites began soon after they were hit by Israeli and U.S. strikes last year, but work at Iran’s nuclear facilities has been slower.

Iran’s crackdown on protests makes clear that its nuclear ambitions will be harder to negotiate away. Six months after US and Israeli strikes devastated Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025, satellite imagery reveals an accelerating pattern of reconstruction,

The activity comes at a time of heightened tensions as talks between Iranian and US officials continue over Iran's nuclear programme.