Satellite images show damage from Israeli attack at 2 secretive Iranian military bases

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Israeli onslaught connected Iran damaged accommodation astatine a secretive subject guidelines southeast of nan Iranian superior that experts successful nan past person linked to Tehran’s onetime atomic weapons programme and astatine different guidelines tied to its ballistic rocket program, outer photos analyzed Sunday by The Associated Press show.

Some of nan buildings damaged sat successful Iran’s Parchin subject base, wherever nan International Atomic Energy Agency suspects Iran successful nan past conducted tests of precocious explosives that could trigger a atomic weapon. Iran agelong has insisted its atomic programme is peaceful, though nan IAEA, Western intelligence agencies and others opportunity Tehran had an progressive weapons programme up until 2003.

The different harm could beryllium seen astatine nan adjacent Khojir subject base, which analysts judge hides an underground passageway strategy and rocket accumulation sites.

Iran’s subject has not acknowledged harm astatine either Khojir aliases Parchin from Israel’s onslaught early Saturday, though it has said nan battle killed 4 Iranian soldiers moving successful nan country’s aerial defense systems.

Iran’s ngo to nan United Nations did not instantly respond to a petition for comment, nor did nan Israeli military.

However, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei connected Sunday told an assemblage that nan Israeli onslaught “should not beryllium exaggerated nor downplayed,” while stopping short of calling for an contiguous retaliatory strike. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu separately said Sunday that Israel’s strikes “severely harmed” Iran and that nan barrage “achieved each its goals.”

Damage dispersed crossed 3 Iranian provinces

It remains unclear really galore sites successful full were targeted successful nan Israeli attack. There person been nary images of harm truthful acold released by Iran’s military.

Iranian officials person identified affected areas arsenic being successful Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces. Burned fields could beryllium seen successful outer images from Planet Labs PBC astir Iran’s Tange Bijar earthy state accumulation tract successful Ilam state connected Saturday, though it wasn’t instantly clear if it was related to nan attack. Ilam state sits connected nan Iran-Iraq separator successful occidental Iran.

The astir telling harm could beryllium seen successful Planet Labs images of Parchin, immoderate 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of downtown Tehran adjacent nan Mamalu Dam. There, 1 building appeared to beryllium wholly destroyed while others looked damaged successful nan attack.

At Khojir, immoderate 20 kilometers (12 miles) distant from downtown Tehran, harm could beryllium seen connected astatine slightest 2 structures successful outer images.

Analysts including Decker Eveleth astatine nan Virginia-based deliberation vessel CNA, Joe Truzman astatine nan Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies and erstwhile United Nations limb inspector David Albright, arsenic good arsenic different open-source experts, first identified nan harm to nan bases. The locations of nan 2 bases correspond to videos obtained by nan AP showing Iranian aerial defense systems firing successful nan vicinity early Saturday.

Base linked to Iran’s onetime atomic weapons program

At Parchin, Albright’s Institute for Science and International Security identified nan destroyed building against a mountainside arsenic “Taleghan 2.” It said an archive of Iranian atomic information earlier seized by Israel identified nan building arsenic lodging “a smaller, elongated precocious explosive enclosure and a flash X-ray strategy to analyse small-scale precocious explosive tests.”

“Such tests whitethorn person included precocious explosives compressing a halfway of earthy uranium, simulating nan initiation of a atomic explosive,” a 2018 study by nan institute says.

In a connection posted to nan societal level X early Sunday, nan institute added: “It is not definite whether Iran utilized uranium astatine ‘Taleghan 2,’ but it is imaginable it studied nan compression of earthy uranium hemispheres, which would explicate its hasty and secretive renewal efforts pursuing nan IAEA’s petition to entree Parchin successful 2011.”

It’s unclear what, if any, instrumentality would person been wrong of nan “Taleghan 2" building early Saturday. There were nary Israeli strikes connected Iran’s lipid industry, nor its atomic enrichment sites aliases its atomic powerfulness works astatine Bushehr during nan assault.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, who leads nan IAEA, confirmed that connected X, saying “Iran’s atomic accommodation person not been impacted.”

“Inspectors are safe and proceed their captious work,” he added. “I telephone for prudence and restraint from actions that could jeopardize nan information & information of atomic & different radioactive materials.”

Damage seen astatine accommodation for Iran’s ballistic rocket program

Other buildings destroyed astatine Khojir and Parchin apt included a storage and different buildings wherever Iran utilized business mixers to create nan coagulated substance needed for its extended ballistic rocket arsenal, Eveleth said.

In a connection issued instantly aft nan onslaught Saturday, nan Israeli subject said it targeted “missile manufacturing accommodation utilized to nutrient nan missiles that Iran fired astatine nan authorities of Israel complete nan past year.”

Destroying specified sites could greatly disrupt Iran’s expertise to manufacture caller ballistic missiles to replenish its arsenal aft nan 2 attacks connected Israel. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which oversees the country’s ballistic rocket program, has been silent since Saturday’s attack.

Iran’s wide ballistic rocket arsenal, which includes shorter-range missiles incapable to scope Israel, was estimated to beryllium “over 3,000” by Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, then-commander of nan U.S. military’s Central Command, successful grounds to nan U.S. Senate successful 2022. In nan clip since, Iran has fired hundreds of nan missiles successful a bid of attacks.

There person been nary videos aliases photos posted to societal media of rocket parts aliases harm successful civilian neighborhoods pursuing nan caller onslaught — suggesting that nan Israeli strikes were acold much meticulous that Iran’s ballistic rocket barrages targeting Israel successful April and October. Israel relied connected aircraft-fired missiles during its attack.

However, 1 mill appeared to person been deed successful Shamsabad Industrial City, conscionable southbound of Tehran adjacent Imam Khomeini International Airport, nan country’s main gateway to nan extracurricular world. Online videos of nan damaged building corresponded to an reside for a patient known arsenic TIECO, which advertises itself arsenic building precocious machinery utilized successful Iran’s lipid and state industry.

Officials astatine TIECO requested nan AP constitute nan institution a missive earlier responding to questions. The patient did not instantly reply to a missive sent to it.

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Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat successful Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.