According to American experts, the airstrikes carried out by Israel in Iran on Saturday affected facilities that were previously they were linked to the country’s nuclear weapons development program, and are currently used for rocket production. Attacks based on analysis of satellite images
significantly limit Iran’s missile production capabilities.
Iran has the largest missile arsenal in the Middle East. According to US officials the country supplied missiles to Russia for its war against Ukraine, as well as to Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia. Tehran and Moscow deny that Russia has received Iranian missiles, the Western powers see it differently.
David Albright, a former UN weapons inspector, and Decker Eveleth, a staff member of the CNA think tank in Washington, came to this conclusion independently. Reuters was told that Israel struck the Parcsin military complex near Tehran and the Khojir missile site.
Albright said one of the targets was the Taleghan 2 facility in Parcsin, which had previously been used for testing activities during Iran’s defunct nuclear weapons program, the Amad Project.
Even if no equipment remained inside, the building would have provided significant value for future nuclear weapons activities
– opined the expert.
Based on Eveleth’s analysis Israel destroyed three buildings mixing solid fuel for ballistic missiles and a warehouse in Parcsin. Two buildings with a similar purpose were also hit in the Khojir complex.
These industrial equipment are difficult to manufacture and subject to export controls. Iran has imported a lot over the years at great cost and it will likely be difficult to replace them
– explained the researcher.
“The strikes seem to have been very accurate,” Eveleth added. According to him, with the limited operation Israel could deal a significant blow to Iran’s ability to mass-produce missilesand made it difficult for any future Iranian missile attacks to penetrate Israel’s missile defenses.
According to the Israeli army, the airstrikes on Saturday morning served as retaliation for Iran’s October 1st attack with more than 200 missiles. The Iranian military said the Israeli warplanes used “very light warheads”.
Source: Reuters
Cover image source: 2024 Anadolu via Getty Images The cover image shows an Israeli military fighter jet preparing to attack Iran on October 26, 2024 in Israel.
Source: www.portfolio.hu
