Satellite photos show Israeli strike likely hit important Iran Revolutionary Guard missile base

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel’s onslaught connected Iran apt damaged a guidelines tally by nan paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that builds ballistic missiles and launches rockets arsenic portion of its ain abstraction program, outer images analyzed by The Associated Press connected Tuesday showed.

The harm astatine nan guidelines successful Shahroud raises caller questions astir Israel’s onslaught early Saturday, peculiarly arsenic it took spot successful an area antecedently unacknowledged by Tehran and progressive nan Guard, a powerful unit wrong Iran’s theocracy that truthful acold has remained silent astir immoderate imaginable harm it suffered from nan assault. Iran only has identified Israeli attacks arsenic taking spot successful Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces — not successful agrarian Semnan state wherever nan guidelines is located.

It besides perchance further restrains nan Guard’s expertise to manufacture nan solid-fuel ballistic missiles it needs to stockpile arsenic a deterrent against Israel. Tehran agelong has relied connected that arsenal arsenic it cannot acquisition nan precocious Western weapons that Israel and Tehran’s Gulf Arab neighbors person equipped themselves pinch complete nan years, peculiarly from nan United States.

Satellite photos earlier analyzed by nan AP of 2 subject bases adjacent Tehran besides targeted by Israel shows sites location Iran uses successful its ballistic rocket manufacturing person been destroyed, further squeezing its program.

“We don’t cognize if Iranian accumulation has been crippled arsenic immoderate group are saying aliases conscionable damaged,” said Fabian Hinz, a rocket master and investigation chap astatine nan International Institute for Strategic Studies who studies Iran. “We’ve seen capable imagery to show there’s an impact.”

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

Images show awesome building astatine Shahroud guidelines destroyed

High-resolution outer images from Planet Labs PBC taken for and analyzed by nan AP showed nan harm astatine nan Guard’s Shahroud Space Center successful Semnan, immoderate 370 kilometers (230 miles) northeast of nan Iranian capital, Tehran. Semnan besides hosts nan Imam Khomeini Space Center, which is utilized by Iran’s civilian abstraction program.

The images showed a central, awesome building astatine nan Shahroud Space Center had been destroyed, nan protector of its still-standing framework seen successful nan image taken Tuesday morning. Vehicles could beryllium seen gathered astir nan site, apt from officials inspecting nan damage, pinch much cars than normal parked astatine nan site’s main gross nearby.

Three mini buildings conscionable to nan southbound of nan main building besides appeared to beryllium damaged. Iran has been constructing caller buildings astatine nan guidelines successful caller months. Another hangar to nan northeast of nan main building besides appeared to person been damaged.

Iran has not acknowledged immoderate onslaught astatine Shahroud. However, fixed nan harm done to aggregate structures, it suggested nan Israeli onslaught included pinpoint strikes connected nan base. Low-resolution images since nan onslaught showed signs of harm astatine nan tract not seen earlier nan battle — further pointing to Israeli rocket strikes arsenic being nan culprit.

“We can’t 100% exclude nan anticipation it’s thing else, but it’s almost definite this building sewage damaged because of an Israeli attack,” Hinz said.

Given that nan ample building had been surrounded by earthen berms, that suggests it handled precocious explosives, said Hinz, who agelong has studied nan site. That cardinal tract apt deals pinch coagulated propellant mixing and casting operations, he added.

Large boxes adjacent to nan building apt are rocket centrifugal crates arsenic well, Hinz said. Their sizes propose they could beryllium utilized for Iran’s Kheibar Shekan ballistic rocket and nan Fattah 1, a rocket that Iran has claimed is capable to scope Mach 15 — which is 15 times nan velocity of sound. Both person been utilized successful Iran’s attacks connected Israel during nan Israel-Hamas warfare and nan later crushed penetration of Lebanon.

The onslaught astatine Shahroud, coupled pinch others crossed nan country, apt person put much unit connected Iran’s theocracy, peculiarly arsenic it assesses nan harm to its main limb arsenal and tries to downplay nan attack.

“Due to preparedness and vigilance of nan Islamic Republic of Iran’s equipped forces, and timely guidance by nan country’s aerial defense, constricted harm was caused to immoderate of nan points hit,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed successful a gathering pinch overseas diplomats Tuesday successful Tehran. “Necessary measures were taken instantly to reconstruct nan damaged instrumentality to operational state.”

US worries Guard’s abstraction programme a screen for rocket research

A short region from nan destroyed buildings sits a actual motorboat pad utilized by nan Guard, which has conducted a bid of successful missions putting satellites into abstraction utilizing mobile launchers. The Guard, which answers only to 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, revealed its concealed abstraction programme backmost successful 2020.

The U.S. intelligence community’s 2024 worldwide threat appraisal said Iran’s continued improvement of outer motorboat vehicles “would shorten nan timeline to produce” an intercontinental ballistic rocket because it uses akin technology.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles tin beryllium utilized to present atomic weapons. Iran is now producing uranium adjacent to weapons-grade levels aft nan illness of its atomic woody pinch world powers. Tehran has capable enriched uranium for “several” atomic weapons, if it chooses to nutrient them, the caput of nan International Atomic Energy Agency many times has warned.

Iran has ever denied seeking atomic weapons and says its abstraction program, for illustration its atomic activities, is for purely civilian purposes. However, U.S. intelligence agencies and nan IAEA opportunity Iran had an organized subject atomic programme up until 2003. Parchin, 1 of nan 2 subject bases adjacent Tehran targeted by Israel, saw a building linked to that programme destroyed.

“Like pinch Iran’s atomic program, you don’t build nan strategy itself, you build each nan exertion nether screen of a civilian program,” Hinz said.

Then, Iran could make nan determination to prosecute nan limb — aliases usage its knowledge arsenic a bargaining spot pinch nan West complete world sanctions.

But for now, nan outer photos propose Iran is still trying to measure nan aftermath of Israel’s attack.

“The image that is emerging is 1 of important harm to Iranian aerial defenses arsenic good arsenic rocket motorboat facilities, some of which would beryllium intended to show nan Iranians that they are susceptible to further strikes if they effort retaliation,” an study published Monday by 2 experts astatine Britain’s Royal United Services Institute said.