A private Israeli intelligence company released on Friday satellite images of an Iranian missile development facility outside of Tehran, showing the damage caused by a purported explosion late last month.
As seen in the satellite pictures, at least a quarter of the building, claimed to be a “secret missile base” belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was entirely demolished, with more damage seen on the roof of the entire structure on Monday shortly after the incident.
ImageSat International, a satellite image analysis company, released the photos and identified the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group as the targeted location.
According to reports, at least two IRGC members were killed as a result of the blast at the facility.
“On Sunday evening a fire broke out in one of the IRGC … research centers west of Tehran. Three people were injured and the fire has been contained,” Iran’s state TV announced.
An IRGC official statement called the complex a “research self-sufficiency center”. Some analysts speculated this could refer to a branch of the IRGC Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization, which plays a role in Iran’s weapons development.
The Organization, which reportedly runs the damaged facility, was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2017 for its efforts in researching and developing ballistic missiles.
Since July 2020, a succession of suspicious fires and explosions have occurred at Iran’s nuclear, military, and industrial sites.
Saeed Khatibzadeh, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said the “war has already begun” with Israel.
Khatibzadeh alleged that Israel “has murdered nuclear scientists and harmed the Iranian people,” reported Israel’s Maariv.
“Iran is blamed for terrorism, but there is no good or bad terrorist. The entire crisis in the region is Israel’s fault,” he stressed.
He also accused Israel of doing “everything” in an attempt to foil the nuclear talks with the UN in Vienna and to drive a wedge between Iran and world powers.
“Israel has severely harmed our civilians and research system,” Khatibzadeh stated.
“They speak about the Iranian nuclear threat, but Israel has hundreds of bombs, and it never signed the non-proliferation treaty for nuclear weapons.”
