New satellite images show that an Israeli military strike on Iran on Saturday hit an array of sensitive military sites, including a major missile manufacturing facility.
The strikes destroyed several key oil and petrochemical refineries, as well as an air defense system set up to protect a major gas field and a major port in southern Iran. Israel also hit military bases in Tehran's provinces, according to Iran's National Air Defense.
Satellite images from Planet Labs, taken in March and Tuesday, show the Shahroud space center in Semnan province, which is owned by Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Fabian Heinz, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies who has been tracking the site since 2017, said it was used to make solid-propellant rocket motors that could be used in space technology. But which are also commonly used for ballistic missiles. .
US and Israeli officials have said the attack specifically targeted Iran's ability to produce solid propellants for missiles. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech on Sunday that Israel had struck hard at Iran's missile capability and had achieved all its objectives.
Mr Hinz said he was “highly confident” the Shahrood facility was used in the mass production of intermediate-range ballistic missiles that could be used to target Israel. Comparing images from March and Tuesday, he said Israel had “bombed the main building, which was linked to the production of solid propellant rockets.”
In recent years, the Revolutionary Guard has developed a missile development program separate from that of the Iranian armed forces, Mr. Hinz said. The Shahrood facility has the infrastructure for the space program, but solid propellant facilities are “inherently versatile” and can be easily adapted to build missiles, he said.
He said the photo showed signs of missile production from March, including the presence of ballistic missile motors and crates from several storage bunkers. “You don't need that many storage bunkers for a space program,” Mr. Hinz said.
Joseph Bermudez, a senior fellow in image analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, also said the facility's design suggests it was used to make solid-propellant rockets for munitions.
Mr. Bermudez noted that the central building in the photos was surrounded by a large, earthen berm, and that similar, smaller berms were built around the surrounding buildings — presumably to absorb the blasts — as well. He is also a baker.
Mr. Bermudez said solid propellant is useful for weapons systems because it can be stored longer, and because rockets that use it can be launched faster than those that rely on liquid propellants. do
Mr Hinz said Israel's attacks on Iran had been limited in scope but “quite effective”. He said they appear to have “hit key points in the production process in an attempt to knock the Iranian solid-propellant ballistic missile infrastructure out of production.”
Initial reports indicated that three of Iran's four missile factories were hit on Saturday, and while the extent of the damage was not yet clear, Mr. Hinz said he had seen enough that enough to believe that the attack was “significant”.
Iran attacked Israel earlier this month, in retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, which was widely blamed on Israel, as well as another near Beirut. It was a response to the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike. An Iranian commander was also killed in this September attack.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the authority to order an attack on Israel. On Sunday, in his first public comments about Israel's attack, he said its impact “should neither be exaggerated nor minimized,” Iranian state media reported.
The statement said that there could be another attack on Israel. Certainly, Israel was ready for one.
Israeli army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halvi said on Tuesday that if Iran strikes again, we will once again know how to reach Iran, with capabilities that we did not use at the time. , and attacked a lot. Very hard on both their abilities and locations.
“It's not over,” he said. “We're still in the middle of it.”
David E. Sanger, Farnaz Fasihi And Cassandra Winograd Cooperation reporting.