Iran is rebuilding nuclear power plants damaged by previous US attacks and preparing for war despite talks with the Trump administration, according to a prominent Iranian opposition figure.
Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the Washington office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the recently released satellite images also prove that the regime has accelerated its efforts to restore its “$2 trillion” uranium enrichment capabilities.
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Reconstruction activities appear to be underway at Iran’s nuclear complex in Isfahan. (Planet Labs PBC/handout via Reuters)
“That said, the ongoing rebuilding of Iran’s uranium enrichment capabilities is particularly alarming as the regime is now engaged in nuclear talks with the United States,” he added.
New satellite images released by Earth Intelligence Monitor, Planet Labsshow that reconstruction activities appear to be underway in the Isfahan complex.
Isfahan is one of three Iranian uranium enrichment plants targeted by the US military operation known as ‘Midnight Hammer’.
The June 22 operation involved coordinated air and naval attacks on the facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
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A satellite image shows tunnel entrances covered in soil at the Isfahan nuclear complex. (Vantor/handout via Reuters)
Despite the damage, satellite images show that Iran has buried the entrances to a tunnel complex at the site, according to Reuters.
Similar steps were reportedly taken at the Natanz plant, which is home to two additional enrichment plants.
“These efforts in Isfahan include the reconstruction of the centrifuge program and other activities related to uranium enrichment,” Jafarzadeh said.
The renewed moves come as Iran took part in talks with the US in Geneva.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump warned that “bad things” would happen if Iran did not make a deal.
While the talks were aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, Jafarzadeh argues that the talks would amount to nothing more than a tactical delay for the regime.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “agreed to the nuclear talks because it would give the regime crucial time to avoid or limit the consequences of a confrontation with the West,” Jafarzadeh said. (Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran via Getty Images)
“Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei agreed to the nuclear talks because it would buy the regime crucial time to avoid or limit the consequences of a confrontation with the West,” he said.
Jafarzadeh also described the regime as spending at least “$2 trillion” on nuclear capabilities, which he said “is higher than the total oil revenues generated since the regime came to power in Iran in 1979.”
“Tehran is trying to salvage what is left of its nuclear weapons program and rebuild it quickly,” he said. “It has invested heavily in the nuclear weapons program as a key tool for the survival of the regime.”
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Satellite images taken on January 30, 2026 show a new roof over a previously destroyed building at the Natanz nuclear site. (2026 PLANET LABS PBC/handout via Reuters)
Jafarzadeh is best known for publicly revealing the existence of Iran’s Natanz nuclear power plant in 2002, which led to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency and an intensified global investigation into Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
“The Iranian regime’s insistence during the nuclear talks to maintain its uranium enrichment capabilities while rebuilding damaged sites is a clear indication that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has no plans to abandon his nuclear weapons program,” he said.
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Iran’s National Council of Resistance, led by Maryam Rajavi, has exposed for the first time the nuclear sites in Natanz, Arak, Fordow and more than 100 other sites and projects, Jafarzadeh said, “despite the regime’s massive crackdown on this movement.”
