Satellite images show damage from Israeli attack at 2 Iranian military bases 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — 

An Israeli onslaught connected Iran damaged facilities astatine 2 secretive subject basal southeast of the Iranian capital, outer photos analyzed Sunday by The Associated Press show.

In the past, experts person linked 1 tract to Tehran's onetime atomic weapons programme and the different to its ballistic rocket program. Some of the damaged buildings sat successful Iran's Parchin subject base, wherever the International Atomic Energy Agency suspects Iran successful the past conducted tests of precocious explosives that could trigger a atomic weapon.

Iran agelong has insisted its atomic programme is peaceful, though the IAEA, Western quality agencies and others accidental Tehran had an progressive weapons programme until 2003.

The different harm could beryllium seen astatine the adjacent Khojir subject base, which analysts judge hides an underground passageway strategy and rocket accumulation sites.

Iran's subject has not acknowledged harm astatine either Khojir oregon Parchin from Israel's onslaught aboriginal Saturday, though it has said the battle killed 4 Iranian soldiers moving successful the country's aerial defence systems.

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

However, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei connected Sunday told an assemblage that the Israeli onslaught "should not beryllium exaggerated nor downplayed," portion stopping abbreviated of calling for an contiguous retaliatory strike. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu separately said Sunday that Israel's strikes "severely harmed" Iran and that the barrage "achieved each its goals."

It remains unclear however galore sites successful full were targeted successful the Israeli attack. There person been nary images of harm truthful acold released by Iran's military.

Iranian officials person identified affected areas arsenic being successful Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces. Burned fields could beryllium seen successful outer images from Planet Labs PBC astir Iran's Tange Bijar earthy state accumulation tract successful Ilam state connected Saturday, though it wasn't instantly wide if it was related to the attack. Ilam state sits connected the Iraq borderline successful occidental Iran.

The astir telling harm could beryllium seen successful Planet Labs images of Parchin, astir 40 kilometers southeast of downtown Tehran adjacent the Mamalu Dam. There, 1 operation appeared to beryllium destroyed portion others looked damaged successful the attack.

At Khojir, astir 20 kilometers distant from downtown Tehran, harm could beryllium seen connected astatine slightest 2 structures successful outer images.

Analysts including Decker Eveleth astatine the Virginia-based deliberation vessel CNA, Joe Truzman astatine the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies and erstwhile United Nations limb inspector David Albright, arsenic good arsenic different open-source experts, archetypal identified the harm to the bases. The locations of the 2 bases correspond to videos obtained by the AP showing Iranian aerial defence systems firing successful the vicinity aboriginal Saturday.

At Parchin, Albright's Institute for Science and International Security identified the destroyed gathering against a mountainside arsenic "Taleghan 2." It said an archive of Iranian atomic information earlier seized by Israel identified the gathering arsenic lodging "a smaller, elongated precocious explosive enclosure and a flash X-ray strategy to analyse small-scale precocious explosive tests."

"Such tests whitethorn person included precocious explosives compressing a halfway of earthy uranium, simulating the initiation of a atomic explosive," a 2018 study by the institute says.

In a connection posted to the societal level X aboriginal Sunday, the institute added: "It is not definite whether Iran utilized uranium astatine 'Taleghan 2,' but it is imaginable it studied the compression of earthy uranium hemispheres, which would explicate its hasty and secretive renovation efforts pursuing the IAEA's petition to entree Parchin successful 2011."

It's unclear what, if any, instrumentality would person been wrong of the "Taleghan 2" gathering aboriginal Saturday. There were nary Israeli strikes connected Iran's lipid industry, nor its atomic enrichment sites oregon its atomic powerfulness works astatine Bushehr during the assault.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, who leads the IAEA, confirmed that connected X, saying "Iran's atomic facilities person not been impacted."

"Inspectors are harmless and proceed their captious work," helium added. "I telephone for prudence and restraint from actions that could jeopardize the information & information of atomic & different radioactive materials."

Other buildings destroyed astatine Khojir and Parchin apt included a warehouse and different buildings wherever Iran utilized concern mixers to make the coagulated substance needed for its extended ballistic rocket arsenal, Eveleth said.

In a connection issued instantly aft the onslaught Saturday, the Israeli subject said it targeted "missile manufacturing facilities utilized to nutrient the missiles that Iran fired astatine the authorities of Israel implicit the past year."

Destroying specified sites could greatly disrupt Iran's quality to manufacture caller ballistic missiles to replenish its arsenal aft the 2 attacks connected Israel. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which oversees the country's ballistic rocket program, has been soundless since Saturday's attack.

Iran's wide ballistic rocket arsenal, which includes shorter-range missiles incapable to scope Israel, was estimated to beryllium "over 3,000" by Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, then-commander of the U.S. military's Central Command, successful grounds to the U.S. Senate successful 2022. In the clip since, Iran has fired hundreds of the missiles successful a bid of attacks.

There person been nary videos oregon photos posted to societal media of rocket parts oregon harm successful civilian neighborhoods pursuing the caller onslaught — suggesting that the Israeli strikes were acold much close that Iran's ballistic rocket barrages targeting Israel successful April and October. Israel relied connected aircraft-fired missiles during its attack.

However, 1 mill appeared to person been deed successful Shamsabad Industrial City, conscionable southbound of Tehran adjacent Imam Khomeini International Airport, the country's main gateway to the world. Online videos of the damaged gathering corresponded to an code for a steadfast known arsenic TIECO, which advertises itself arsenic gathering precocious machinery utilized successful Iran's lipid and state industry.

Officials astatine TIECO requested the AP constitute the institution a missive earlier responding to questions. The steadfast did not instantly reply to a missive sent to it.