Exclusive satellite imagery obtained by CNN from geospatial intelligence firm Vantor and analysed in conjunction with the Institute for Science and International Security shows that Iran may have been repairing or rebuilding facilities at several nuclear and missile sites damaged during US-Israeli airstrikes — while the memorandum of understanding it signed with the United States on June 17 was supposed to be in effect.
The findings — published Friday as the fighting between the US and Iran continues to pause and resume in cycles — raise the most serious questions yet about whether Iran violated its nuclear commitment under the Versailles agreement, and have prompted immediate responses from the US Treasury Department, the United Nations Security Council and Iran’s government.
What the Satellite Images Show
A CNN visual investigation found new activity at several nuclear sites and missile facilities across Iran in late June and early July.
CNN found notable activity at a site in the Parchin military complex, known as Taleghan 2, where experts believe explosive material for nuclear weapons is stored. A CNN visual investigation found evidence of repair and reconstruction work at Taleghan 2, a facility inside the Parchin military complex, southeast of Tehran.
An analysis of the facility in conjunction with the Institute for Science and International Security identified repair and reconstruction work to several impact holes left by the US-Israeli bombing campaign, in images taken on June 22 and July 7. The June 17 memorandum of understanding had been signed five days before the first set of images was taken — meaning the repair work was occurring while Iran was formally under a diplomatic commitment never to develop nuclear weapons.
At Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected underground nuclear site, imagery taken on June 21 shows vehicles entering and exiting tunnels, while the memorandum was in effect. Pickaxe Mountain, located near Isfahan, has long been assessed by Western intelligence agencies as a hardened underground facility potentially linked to Iran’s nuclear programme — a site that survived the US-Israeli strikes precisely because of its depth and reinforced construction.
For weeks, satellite providers had withheld imagery across the region following a US government request. CNN was able to analyze imagery after those restrictions were briefly relaxed. With US military action restarting, some restrictions have already come back into effect.
What the US Treasury Did on Friday
The US Treasury Department sanctioned Iranian tycoon Ali Ansari on Friday, citing his links to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards, as part of a broader action targeting Iran’s financial networks. The sanctions action — timed to the publication of the satellite imagery findings — signals that the US is escalating economic pressure on Iran’s financial infrastructure in parallel with the resumed military strikes.
The Treasury designation is significant because it targets the financial networks that would fund any reconstruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities. By identifying individuals linked to both Mojtaba Khamenei and the IRGC as the financial conduits for prohibited activity, the Treasury action creates legal exposure for any international financial institution that continues to facilitate their transactions.
What the MoU’s Nuclear Clause Actually Said
The June 17 memorandum of understanding contained a commitment from Iran never to develop nuclear weapons. The precise language of that commitment — and the verification mechanisms attached to it — were left to be worked out in the technical working groups scheduled to begin on June 30, which were paused by the Khamenei funeral and then overtaken by the renewed fighting.
In the absence of those verification mechanisms, the satellite imagery serves as the only available public evidence of what Iran has been doing at its nuclear sites since the agreement was signed. The images cannot definitively confirm that prohibited nuclear weapons development activity is occurring — Taleghan 2 is a dual-use facility where non-weapons conventional explosive testing also takes place, and the repair work visible in the images could relate to either category. But the repair of impact craters at a nuclear-associated facility while a nuclear commitment is nominally in effect has been characterised by nuclear analysts as at minimum deeply concerning.
What the US Has Said at the UN
Deputy US Representative to the United Nations Tammy Bruce said the US prefers a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Iran but “stands ready to hold Iran to account for its acts that defy international peace and security.”
Bruce said that in the last week, Iran had “taken actions that defy the substance and the spirit of the understanding established between our two countries.” She urged the United Nations to “remain fully engaged” on the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme and reiterated that Tehran had “contravened international law and this council’s resolutions.”
France’s representative, Jérôme Bonnafont, called recent attacks by Iran in the Middle East “unacceptable” and said France would “continue to work with all partners to contribute to efforts aimed at achieving a durable diplomatic solution that will guarantee that Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon.”
Iran’s Response
Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran is prepared for “all-out defense” if the United States breaks the memorandum of understanding signed last month. Iran’s foreign ministry described the CNN satellite investigation as “warmongering journalism” and denied that any prohibited nuclear activity was taking place. Iranian officials have consistently maintained that the country’s nuclear programme is for peaceful civilian purposes and that its activities comply with its international commitments.
The denial is difficult to assess independently. The Trump administration doesn’t want Israel involved in the fighting over concerns of losing control of the conflict, according to two Israeli sources. The exclusion of Israel from the US decision-making process on the diplomatic track also limits the intelligence-sharing dimension of the nuclear monitoring question — a gap that the satellite imagery published Friday has now partially filled for the public record.
What Happens Next
The satellite imagery has arrived at a moment when the US is simultaneously demanding that Iran issue a public statement that the Strait of Hormuz is open and that commercial vessels will not be attacked — a prerequisite Washington has set for resuming nuclear talks. Senior US officials said Washington expects Tehran to issue a public statement in the coming days that the Strait of Hormuz is open and commercial vessels attempting to transit the waterway won’t be attacked. Without safe passage assured in the strait, then the two sides will “never” move on to negotiations on nuclear weapons, a senior US official said.
Adding nuclear facility reconstruction to the list of unresolved issues — on top of the Hormuz governance dispute, the frozen assets question, the Israel-Lebanon linkage and the internal Iranian leadership uncertainty — makes the prospect of resumed meaningful negotiations more distant, not less, even as Qatar and Pakistan scramble to keep both sides at the table.
