White House spokeswoman Olivia Wiles said Wednesday evening that the United States is monitoring activity at Iranian nuclear facilities, stressing that President Donald Trump will not allow Tehran to possess a nuclear weapon. She was commenting on reports about activity at nuclear sites inside Iran.
Washington’s position on Iran’s nuclear program
Wiles said US forces, acting on Trump’s orders, destroyed Iranian nuclear facilities and military industries. She also said they sank the Iranian navy and rendered its air force ineffective, arguing that Iran is now weaker than ever.
Trump told reporters Wednesday evening that he believed the war with Iran would end immediately after the US midterm elections in November, accusing Tehran of trying to influence the elections. He added that he was not seeking a deal but was doing what he described as something bigger than the nuclear deal, warning of the consequences of Iran possessing a nuclear weapon.
Accelerated construction near Natanz
The statements came as the Center for Strategic and International Studies published an analysis of satellite imagery showing accelerated construction during 2026 inside Mount Kolang near Natanz. According to the analysis, Western intelligence agencies suspect Tehran is building an undeclared uranium-enrichment facility inside the hardened site.
Experts at the center said the imagery, most recently captured on 9 August, showed intensified fortification of tunnel entrances, paving of the internal road network and reinforcement of areas around the entrances. But they stressed that the images neither prove nor disprove reports of an Israeli intelligence assessment that centrifuges had been moved to the site.
The International Atomic Energy Agency asked Tehran to provide information about Mount Kolang and allow it access to the site. Citing reports, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said Iran had not responded to the requests.
Experts at the center said destroying the facility, located deep inside a granite massif, would be difficult even with the heaviest US non-nuclear munitions.
Ongoing military escalation
The war between the United States and Iran is entering its seventh month, while Tehran launched new attacks on US targets in the Middle East on Wednesday in response to US strikes targeting Iranian oil tankers, as the military escalation between the two sides continued.
