Iran appears to be carrying out major new construction near at least two of its main missile sites, BBC Verify reported on Friday. Analysts at British intelligence company MAIAR reviewed satellite images taken in November. They saw digging and new buildings at the Garmdareh base in Karaj, near Tehran, and at the Shahroud base in the north.
At least 12 other military sites, including missile complexes and air bases, show signs of repair, the analysts said. New roofs now cover destroyed buildings at the Kermanshah missile base near the Iraqi border. Damaged buildings and debris have been cleared at the Parchin complex east of the capital. At Parchin's Taleghan 2 facility, a bombed underground bunker appears to have been repaired and reinforced with concrete.
Analysts see the work as a push to move key sites underground. Sam Lair of the Foreign Policy Research Institute said the Karaj images appear to show "a new portal for an underground facility". Former CIA analyst Jim Lamson said the Shahroud digging could be linked to missile production. He said Iran's Revolutionary Guards are probably trying to move production below ground because the nearby air base has been hit many times. Janes analyst Sean O'Connor said the work is unlikely to be an effort to deceive foreign intelligence agencies. Such a project "would be costly and may achieve little", he said.
A MAIAR analyst also spotted new excavation outside tunnel entrances near Qom, close to the Fordo uranium enrichment complex. The US and Israel have bombed Fordo several times. Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said the activity shows Tehran is bracing for more attacks. He said it also signals that Iran is putting military rebuilding ahead of fixing its economy.
The findings contrast with repeated White House assurances. President Donald Trump has called Iran's armed forces a "complete and total mess". A Pentagon spokesperson earlier said the US had destroyed up to 90% of Iran's drone, ballistic missile and naval industrial base. Iran says it still holds large missile stockpiles. Footage on Iranian state TV this week claimed to show dozens of missiles at the entrance to an underground site in southern Iran.
Speculation has grown in recent weeks that the US could resume strikes after this week's midterm elections. On Wednesday, Vice-President JD Vance said the war's unpopularity with voters hurt the Republicans at the polls. He said it may have cost his party control of the Senate "for the next 6 years".