Iran appears to be undertaking significant new construction near at least two of its major missile sites and repairing bases damaged by months of US and Israeli air strikes, analysis of satellite images suggests, reported the BBC on Friday.
Evidence of digging and new buildings are visible in satellite imagery taken in November at the Garmdareh military base in Karaj near the capital Tehran and the Shahroud base in the north, analysts at British intelligence company MAIAR, who reviewed the photos, told BBC Verify.
At least 12 other military sites, including missile complexes and air bases, appear to show signs of repairs. New roofs have been built on destroyed buildings at the Kermanshah missile base in western Iran, near the border with Iraq, while damaged buildings and debris have been cleared at the Parchin military complex east of the capital.
"The excavations near Shahroud could potentially be related to the production of missiles," said Jim Lamson, a former CIA analyst who focused on Iran.
"Because the nearby air base at Shahroud has been targeted multiple times in recent years, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is probably trying to find ways to move its production facilities underground," he explained.
At Karaj and Shahroud, satellite images appear to show significant excavation. At Karaj, multiple vehicles were visible in satellite images, while improvements appear to have been carried out to the nearby airbase.
The images from Karaj appear to show "a new portal for an underground facility", said Sam Lair, research analyst at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), which has looked extensively into recent developments at Iranian sites, reported the BBC.
A MAIAR analyst also identified new construction and excavations outside tunnel entrances near the city of Qom, close to the Fordo underground uranium enrichment complex, which has been bombed by both the US and Israel multiple times.
Washington has repeatedly asserted that the strikes have severely degraded Iran's military capabilities. Tehran maintains that it holds substantial missile reserves, with state television broadcasting footage purporting to show dozens of missiles at the entrance of an underground facility.
Activity related to military assets would show that Tehran is bracing itself for further attacks by the US and Israel, said Mark Cancian, a military analyst with International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
"The purpose is to better defend itself against future attacks," he said, according to the BBC. "It also indicates a priority on rebuilding military capability rather than rehabilitating the economy."
