An American researcher has reported that an Israeli airstrike on Saturday targeted a facility linked to Iran’s abandoned nuclear weapons program, along with other sites involved in missile fuel production.
David Albright, a former U.N. weapons inspector, and Decker Eveleth, an analyst at the Washington-based think tank CNA, made these assessments based on commercial satellite imagery.
The airstrikes focused on the Parchin military complex, located near Tehran, where Albright indicated that a building known as Taleghan 2 was hit.
This facility was previously associated with testing activities under Iran’s defunct Amad Plan for nuclear weapons development.
Eveleth added that Khojir, a significant missile production site, was also targeted; reports from July had noted extensive construction at this location.
Eveleth suggested that these strikes could have substantially disrupted Iran’s capacity to produce missiles at scale.
The Israeli military reported that multiple waves of jets attacked various missile facilities in response to Iran’s missile barrage against Israel on October 1, during which over 200 missiles were launched.
Iran’s military claimed that Israeli aircraft deployed “light warheads” in their attacks on radar systems in Ilam, Khuzestan, and around Tehran.
On social media platform X, Albright noted that satellite images confirmed damage to Parchin, specifically three buildings located approximately 350 yards from Taleghan 2, including two used for mixing solid fuel for ballistic missiles.
Eveleth, referencing imagery from Planet Labs, indicated that the Israeli strikes destroyed essential mixing facilities and a warehouse at both Parchin and Khojir.
These facilities are crucial for missile production and are protected by earthen barriers designed to contain explosions.
Experts believe that the precision of the strikes has significantly hindered Iran’s ability to replenish its missile stockpile, which is the largest in the Middle East.
This development may serve as a deterrent against further missile assaults on Israel.
