Iran accelerates rebuilding of nuclear sites after US strikes, raising geopolitical risk for markets

Satellite images taken in late June and early July 2026 show Iran is actively rebuilding nuclear and missile facilities that were damaged by US and Israeli strikes in 2025. The reconstruction is moving faster than Western analysts expected, and Iranian leadership is making no effort to hide it. What the satellites show Analysis conducted by CNN in collaboration with the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) reveals extensive repair work at several key Iranian sites. Satellite images from June 22 and July 7, 2026, show concrete reinforcement, excavation, and blast crater coverage at the Taleghan 2 facility inside the Parchin military complex and near a location known as Pickaxe Mountain. Reconstruction at missile facilities near Kangavar, Kermanshah, and Dezful has progressed even faster. Some repair activities at those sites were completed within weeks of the original airstrikes. That timeline caught Western intelligence off guard, according to ISIS reporting, which noted that recovery at certain locations outpaced initial assessments. Five months after the strikes, the picture is mixed at nuclear enrichment sites specifically, where progress has been more limited...