Signs of major construction near Iran's missile bases, what did satellite photos reveal?

Satellite images show that Iran is carrying out large-scale new construction near its two major missile bases.

Along with this, it is also repairing military bases damaged in American and Israeli air strikes that lasted for several months.

Experts from the British Intelligence Agency (MAIAR) have given this information to BBC Verify after reviewing satellite images.

The agency said that satellite images taken in November showed signs of excavation work and construction of new buildings at the Garamdareh military base in Karaj near Tehran and the Shahrud base in the north.

At least 12 other military bases also showed signs of renovation. These include missile complexes and airports.

New roofs have been built over destroyed buildings at the Kermanshah missile base in western Iran near the Iraq border.

Debris from damaged buildings has been removed from the Parchin military base, east of the capital. This is the same base which has been repaired several times after air strikes.

Jim Lamson, a former CIA analyst who monitored Iran, said, "The excavations taking place near Shahrud may be related to missile development."

"The airport, located near Shahrud, has been targeted several times in recent years. So it is likely that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, is looking for ways to move its production centers underground."

An analyst at the British Intelligence Agency said that Iran has already been adopting the strategy of protecting the infrastructure from further attacks by taking it underground.

Mark Mallett, a defense analyst and former head of the Irish Army, said: "An additional benefit of building underground facilities is that it makes it more difficult for other countries to assess their capabilities and operational status."

In recent weeks, speculation has increased that the US could resume attacks on Iran after this week's midterm elections.

But on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance said a war with Iran did not appeal to voters.

Referring to the defeat of the Republican Party, he said that because of this his party may lose control of the Senate for the next six years.

Iranian forces are carrying out small-scale repairs at several military bases across the country that have been severely damaged in airstrikes since the start of the US-Israel war.

Experts say that satellite images indicate that large-scale construction work has been completed at the Talegan-2 facilities of the Parchin military base.

The debris from the damaged buildings in the photos has been removed. Additionally, underground bunkers weakened by the attack have been repaired and reinforced with concrete.

Satellite images of Karaj and Shahrud show large-scale excavations.

Many vehicles have also been seen in satellite images of Karaj. Also, some repair work is seen taking place at the nearby airport.

Sam Lear, a research analyst at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, or FPRI, said that the photos from Karaj show a new entry gate for an underground bunker.

"His organization has studied in detail the developments at Iran's military bases in recent years," he said.

According to Sean O'Connor, an analyst at intelligence company Jane's, "The purpose of this construction work is not to mislead foreign intelligence agencies."

“Such projects are very expensive and do not yield much benefit,” he said.

America and Iran's claims

The White House has repeatedly said that the Iranian armed forces have suffered significant losses due to the attacks by America and Israel.

US President Donald Trump had described the Iranian army as completely scattered.

Earlier, a Pentagon spokesperson had said that America has destroyed up to 90 percent of Iran's drones, ballistic missiles and naval industrial infrastructure.

He had said, "After the attacks, Iran's ability to carry out drone and missile attacks has weakened to a great extent."

But, Iran claims that it still has a large stockpile of missiles.

A video broadcast on state TV this week showed dozens of missiles at the entrance of an underground facility in southern Iran. Iran claims that this is the same place.

Earlier in August also, government TV had broadcast a video.

That video claimed to show Khordad surface-to-air missiles coming out of a tunnel near the southern city of Bandar Abbas.

An MAIAR analyst also identified new construction work and excavations outside the entrances to the tunnels near the city of Qom.

This area is close to the Fordow underground uranium enrichment base. America and Israel have bombed Fordo base several times.

Mark Cantian, a military analyst with the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said this activity involving military resources shows that Iran is preparing for possible further US and Israeli attacks.

"The purpose of this is to better protect ourselves from future attacks," he said.

He said, "This is an indication that Iran is currently giving more priority to rebuilding its military capability than getting the economy back on track."