Netanyahu warned Abu Dhabi: Iran accelerating construction at underground Har Pikakas site

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented to UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed intelligence about significant acceleration in construction work at the underground Har Pikakas site near Natanz, along with a warning that Iran may launch a broad military attack in the region within weeks, according to a report today on CNN.

According to the report, the site is located approximately 225 kilometers south of Tehran and near the Natanz nuclear facility, and according to the materials transferred it marks an Iranian attempt to rehabilitate and protect the country's nuclear capabilities. Analysis of satellite imagery over six years, conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington (CSIS), points to a dramatic acceleration in activity during 2026, with a transition from excavations to infrastructure work, internal construction and reinforcement of tunnel entrances.

The complex is carved deep inside hard granite rock, at depths of many tens of meters below ground. Joseph Rodgers, deputy director of the CSIS nuclear project, said on CNN that this is a clear Iranian attempt to create a nuclear facility that would be nearly impossible to destroy from the air. According to expert sources, there is currently no indication that an active enrichment facility is already operating at the site.

Netanyahu presented to those assembled, including a senior Saudi security official who took part in the talks, an urgent Israeli intelligence assessment that Iran is preparing to carry out a regional attack in the coming weeks. According to the report, the warning was given against the backdrop of increased activity by pro-Iranian militias, threats from the Houthis in Yemen and tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.