The Iran deal is over. Strikes forced a nuclear slowdown, but Iran is ramping up construction at the secretive Pickaxe Mountain facility while banning IAEA access, pushing its program into a new, dangerous era. See the full satellite imagery analysis: https://t.co/rpJUwcXTW3

PONI's inaugural Future Arms Control Experts cohort recently concluded its 2025 programming. Early and mid-career professionals participated in two days of workshops at CSIS where they deepened their knowledge on arms control through roundtables with senior experts, professional

It's cool to see the power of open-source intelligence. Commercial satellite imagery was used by civil society to call out foreign leaders in public in a way that classified information can not.

This morning @NBCNews confronted the President of Iran with the Washington Post report and satellite images. Masoud Pezeshkian said that the IAEA should go verify on the ground. I hope that was a sincere invitation. https://t.co/bJYcvbCjnK

Today, @WashingtonPost released a report featuring more recent satellite imagery of Pickaxe Mountain. Images show increased activity at the site. In 2020, Iran said this facility would produce centrifuges. Not a smoking gun, but it is suspicious 🧐 https://t.co/KYM3GJJH6t

Two months after the US/Israel strikes on Iran, @Heatherwilly, Joseph Bermudez, & I assessed the damage. While the targets were destroyed, our analysis revealed ongoing construction at the deeply buried Pickaxe Mountain facility south of Natanz. https://t.co/NavYorR4cx

@TheWashingtonPo cites @CSISDefense PONI's @NonproJoe on new satellite imagery of Iran’s “Pickaxe Mountain” site. He notes signs of expanded tunneling, reinforced structures, and heavy machinery. Read it here:

Exclusive: Iran has increased construction at a mysterious underground site in the months since the U.S. and Israel pummeled its main nuclear facilities, suggesting Tehran has not entirely ceased work on its suspected weapons program.

PONI’s primary source archive is expanding! Explore newly added original documents on arms control design, negotiation, and implementation now including the NPT, CFE, New START, Moscow Treaty, and CTBT. Take a look here:

New satellite imagery analysis reveals both the effects of the U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and Iran's attempts to rehabilitate the sites. @csisponi expert @NonproJoe explains what this means for Iran's nuclear program and how it might move forward from here.

Recent satellite imagery provides a more realistic picture of the U.S./Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear program, notes @csisponi. It also shows how Iran may be attempting to rebuild and possible developments of a covert program. Learn more here: https://t.co/4vJPRCN8TN

As Iran got closer than ever before to acquiring an atomic bomb, "there may never have been a better time" to strike, says @CSISAerospace. Operation Midnight Hammer is also a reminder of U.S. resolve and military power. Learn more:

5/5: Sadly, this is where the metaphor falls apart. George Lucas intended Star Wars as an allegory for U.S. military intervention and the dangers of technological overreach. Real-world conflicts are far more complex than a trench run. And yet, the space force actually did this.

4/5: The solution? The U.S. deployed B-2 bombers with GBU 57s – a huge "bunker-buster" bomb with 11 tons of TNT equivalent. 12 bombs targeted ventilation shafts, a critical vulnerability. I told the New York Times this was presumably known through robust intel. Thanks, Cassian.

3/5: Similarly, "Operation Midnight Hammer" confronted Fordow, a uranium enrichment facility buried deep within a mountain, making it incredibly challenging to destroy. Like the Death Star, Fordow's hardened, subterranean placement presented an immense targeting puzzle.

2/5 Their daring plan involved a precise, single-point attack on a vulnerable thermal exhaust port. This required pinpoint accuracy and sophisticated intelligence assets enabled by robust espionage

1/5: Somewhat has to say this.. Operation Midnight Hammer resembles a mission undertaken a long long time ago -the destruction of the Death Star. In A New Hope, the Rebel Alliance faced an "invincible" superweapon, the Death Star, designed to obliterate planets. Kinda like nukes.

Read the latest from @csisponi on the nuclear implications of the Israel-Iran war and Operation Midnight Hammer ⬇️

New Analysis: @baileyschiff and I on what comes next in Israel’s campaign and how the fallout factor may play a role: https://t.co/u6Q69ER9LD @CSISDefense @CSIS @csisponi @UCF_SPSIA

PONI's nuclear experts have been busy publishing and engaging with media regarding the Iran-Israel war and its nuclear implications. A round up of their insights and analyses:🧵 @CSIS @CSISDefense