Posted on 07/11/2026 4:27:04 PM PDT by Red Badger
At some point, in some matters, it's tempting to say, "called it." This is one of those times - possibly. Some new satellite photos, released on Saturday, appear to show rebuilding efforts underway in the Iranian nuclear facilities destroyed in 2025's Operation Midnight Hammer. Now it looks like a lot of activity is going on at those sites.
The New York Post, on its main page, has more.
Alarming new satellite images show signs that the Iranian regime appears to be rebuilding its suspected nuclear facilities at Pickaxe Mountain and Parchin.
Footage of both areas – which sustained extensive damage during US and Israeli-led bombing campaigns that began in late February – reveal “major signs” of activity, according to CNN, which obtained images from private firms.
Such construction likely runs afoul of the Memorandum of Understanding that Iran and US negotiators reached last month during a cease-fire that President Trump called “over” following Iranian attacks on shipping vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Note that the activity may have more than one purpose; the Iranians could be looking to recover valuable equipment, or even the nuclear materials themselves, rather than necessarily trying to rebuild sites which are obviously known to the USA and Israel.
But there are some indications of rebuilding of some kind going on, including concrete mixer trucks.
US and Israeli forces repeatedly targeted the Parchin site, which the Iranians had covered with a protective concrete shield, in the joint air campaign that was launched on Feb. 28.
But a series of large blast holes, which were clearly visible on June 10, had been covered over 12 days later.
By July 7, the damage was covered with mesh material and concrete mixer trucks were visible at the ready nearby.
One doesn't pour concrete into a hole that one is trying to dig equipment or nuclear materials out of. One may, though, pour concrete as part of the construction of newer, deeper, harder bunkers in which to conduct operations.
This reconstruction would be a violation of the current understanding between Iran and the United States, and would also be a blow to President Trump's primary agenda item, where Iran is concerned, that being ensuring that Iran never develops a nuclear weapon. But aside from that, it reinforces the one aspect of dealing with Iran that is constant: They can't be trusted. If they make a deal, they will break it. If they promise to do (or not do) something, they will be lying. The current theocracy, as long as they hold any part of Iran under their boots, will never keep any deal; they will never adhere to any agreement. They never have. They never will. The sooner that becomes the primary operating assumption in dealing with Iran, not just the in the United States and Israel, but in all of the world, the better.
In the meantime, it's a safe bet that this satellite intelligence is just a drop in the bucket of all the information-gathering we're doing around these sites. What's more, it's also a safe bet that the United States has more bunker-buster bombs on hand, which are designed to deal with facilities like these - as was proved in 2025.
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New bombing when workers are there will put a damper on their enthusiasm.
Suuure, Jan.
I have thought for some time the area should be mined, but not with antipersonnel mines.
Rather, large, 10,000 lb penetrating weapons that can be activated or deactivated remotely, with various sensing devices for movement, vibration, etc. that can detonate the device.
Drop a number of them in place.
I don’t know if we have weaponry like that. But I am pretty sure we have similar technology on smaller nautical types of mines that could be transferable. Just thinking aloud here.
Or...let them dig for a few months, then they are close, drop a few more penetrators. Kind of dangle possible success in front of them and dash their hopes as they approach success.
Just guessing ,but maybe blast it again?
Any mine can be disarmed and since we do not control the area the operation would be useless.
Good guess. Nuke it from orbit, just to be sure.
Wouldn’t surprise me if we did. We probably have a several weapons we don’t know about.
Probably with money from China or Russia or both.
But ... But ... They promised they wouldn’t.
Makes me wonder why we haven’t done that? Maybe it’s not really being constituted (yet).
Can you say MOAB?
They will never er cease trying to acquire nukes. Never, as long as they breathe.
I am SHOCKED!
I never thought Iran would try something like this. I mean we have an MOU and they told DJT that they gave up their nuclear ambitions and they were begging for a deal. I’m starting to wonder if we can trust them. We need to negotiate better with so these misunderstandings don’t happen again. /s
All this “negotiating” was just to buy time.
If Trump continues fighting the war you’d complain about that too. Bitch bitch bitch
There was an operation in Vietnam called “Operation Igloo White” in which we were trying to implement a tactical sensor element in the conflict that could monitor NVA troop and supply movements along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and elsewhere to monitor and coordinate our attacks against them.
IIRC, the sensors developed were dropped from planes (Navy PV-2 Neptunes, ASW platforms that were no longer in service, or being phased out) which were modified to deploy the sensors (that detected trucks, troops marching, troop urine excretions, sound, etc.) as if they were sonobuoys used for detecting submarines.
The sensors were dropped and mapped, and would beam data up to the Neptunes flying overhead, which would send or bring the recorded data back to a base where analysis could take place.
It was widely credited with allowing us to use B-52s to completely destroy the NVA in the dense jungles around Khe Sand during the 1968 siege in which it was at risk of being overrun.
The NVA had Khe Sanh (with 6,000 Marines) surrounded by nearly 40,000 Regular NVA, so this was a very serious threat.
We had been trying to learn how to leverage this technology for a little while, but when the Khe Sanh Siege developed, there was a high priority push to turn this data they had been getting and turn it into a real tool of warfare.
IIRC, there was a muslim Marine (Captain or Major I think, but I cannot remember his name. He was called “The Mad Turk” or some name like that) who was tasked with figuring out the raw data and turning it into tactical information and targeting that they could use to direct B-52 strikes on troop formations.
This eccentric USMC officer figured out how to spot and target in near real time, and with around the clock formations of B-52s being directed to carpet bomb on designated areas with iron bombs wherever the sensors told the planners to go, it broke the back of the NVA.
We have no doubt been working with this kind of thing in the nearly half century since then, with increases in computer technology and hardware, and now with AI to help analyze the data, so we are likely far beyond that 1968 technology...I doubt we dropped it. It probably looks very different now, in an eyepopping way.
Very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
So sort of like a marriage ceremony, the Iranians get away with it as long as they all shall live.
But the pictures show no evidence of what the headline is claiming. Where’s the proof?
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