SATELLITE IMAGES REVEAL NEW IRANIAN MISSILE SILOS

▶ Southern mountain base increases concerns about growing stockpile of solid-fuel rockets

Analysis of satellite images obtained by the International Institute of Strategic Studies showed the construction of seven new missile silos in southern Iran.

Defence analysts at the London think tank told The National that the site is on a mountainside and designed to hold dozens of advanced missiles.

The images shown to The National reveal launch sites close to the town of Haji Abad.

The base has at least 14 of the latest Zolfagar or Dezful missiles, weapons that can be accurate to within 10 metres and carry 350-kilogram warheads.

It is understood that dozens more could be stored at the site, suspected of being a base for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

There were growing concerns about Iran’s increasing stockpile of solid-fuel missiles, which can be prepared for launch quicker than liquidfuelled rockets.

The satellite images suggest the missile silos are “pointing very consistently” to the south-west, said Joe Dempsey, research associate for defence and military analysis at the think tank.

The report said several military bases, including a large US Air Force logistics centre, could be in range given the direction of the silos.

“This hardened site is particularly interesting as it’s the first one developed specifically to launch their solid-fuel missiles,” said Mr Dempsey.

“We also believe it’s for their longer-range missiles, based on a number of factors.”

The silos have five-metre thick walls “complementing what is already challenging terrain for an attack”, the think tank report said.

The base offers the IRGC the potential for “quick reaction” and “increased accuracy” by having a fixed position, it said.

The silos face south-west and are estimated to be in the range of 238 to 243 degrees, a bearing that could take in parts of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

The report said the base was completed in December 2019 and the analysis showed that each silo contained pairs of cylindrical objects about 12 metres long.

“Given their characteristics and protected placement, these may well be ballistic-missile launch canisters mounted horizontally,” the report said.

A structure similar to the silos was found about 100 kilometres south, near Bandar Abbas, and a potential site was discovered near Shiraz, about 450km to the north-west of Haji Abad.