Why this is important: We believe that reconfiguring missile programs is important for Iran and another war with Israel could arise. The missile is one of Iran’s few military deterrents after a 12-day war with Israel destroyed its air defense system in June.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Iran has begun rebuilding targeted missile production sites Israel during the 12-day war In June there are satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press Show, but key components may still be missing. This is a large mixer needed to produce solid fuel for weapons.
Reconfiguring missile programs is important Islamic Republicbelieves there may be another war with Israel. Missiles are one of Iran’s few military deterrents after the war destroyed air defense systems. This claimed that Tehran Long would never be included in negotiations with the West.
Missile experts told the AP that getting a mixer is Tehran’s goal, especially as it is ready to be possible. United Nations Sanctions It will be reimposed by the state later this month. Sanctions punish the development of missile programs, among other measures. Iranian President Masuud Pezeshkian is scheduled to attend the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
The machine known as a planetary mixer has blades that revolve around a central point like orbiting planets, providing better mixing action than other types of equipment. Iran can buy them from China. There, experts and US officials say they have purchased missile fuel components and other components in the past.
Sam Leah, a researcher at the James Martin Non-Proliferation Research Center, who studied Iranian missile sites, said:
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not answer questions about the country’s efforts to rebuild its missile programme.
Israeli War targets solid fuel missile sites
Solid fuel missiles can fire faster than those using liquid fuel. That speed can make the difference between launching a missile and destroying it with a launcher. This happened during the war with Israel.
Iran has two sites just outside Tehran and a solid fuel missile manufacturing base in Kozil and Parkin, located in Charud, about 350 km (215 miles) northeast of the capital. Even before the latest war, All of those sites It’s here Under Israeli attack In October 2024, national hostilities were underway.
Experts say the attack during the war in June is intended to destroy the buildings that house the mixer. Other sites attacked by Israel included manufacturing facilities that could be used to manufacture mixers.
Satellite images of Planet Labs PBC were taken this month and analyzed by AP show structures at both Parchin and Shahroud facilities.
At Parkin, the building mix appears to be under repair, Lair said a similar reconstruction is taking place in Shahroud, which includes mixing the building and other structures.
The speeds that Iran is rebuilding indicate the importance Tehran has on its missile programme. So far, Iran’s bombed nuclear sites have not seen the same level of activity.
During the war, Iran fired 574 ballistic missiles in Israel, according to the Washington-based US National Security Institute, which has close ties with Israeli forces. In two fires before the war, Iran fired 330 more missiles, the think tank said.
Israeli forces estimated Iran’s total Arsenal to be around 2,500 missiles, meaning more than a third of the missiles had been fired.
Before the war, Iran was able to produce more than 200 solid fuel missiles a month, said Carl Parkin, a summer fellow at the James Martin Center. Israel crashed into a missile construction facility.
“The Israeli targets show that they believe mixing is a bottleneck in Iran’s missile production,” he said. “If Iran can overcome the limitations of mixing, they will have all the casting capabilities they need to start producing large quantities again.”
The Israeli military declined to answer questions about its strategy. Iran’s defense minister, General Aziz Nasirzadeh, recently claimed that Tehran has a new missile with a more sophisticated warhead.
“The 12-day war with Israel has changed some of our priorities,” he said on August 22.
Chinese mixer found at Syrian missile sites in partnership with Iran
Iran may choose to turn to China to obtain mixers and chemicals to make solid fuels.
Such a chemical may have caused it April’s explosion It killed at least 70 people in Iranian ports. Iran has not yet explained the explosion. Diplomats met Americans in Oman over nuclear programmes.
A few days after the explosion, the US State Department approved a Chinese company that said it had provided “ballistic missile propellant components” to the Islamic Republic.
Meanwhile, Iranian innovative security guards may have supplied planetary mixers to Syrian underground ballistic missile construction facility near the town of Masiav to Damascus, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) north of Damascus, the capital near the Lebanese border. Footage released by Israeli forces months after the September 2024 attack on the facility showed a mixer that resembles others selling online by Chinese companies.
Iranian president and military officials visited Beijing earlier this month China’s Victory Day Parade. The Iranian government has not provided a detailed reading of what Pezeshkian said to Chinese President Xi Jinping. Chinese state media also provided no indication that Tehran had sought help.
When asked about the possibility of supplying Tehran mixers and fuel components, China’s Foreign Ministry told the Associated Press that Beijing is “are willing to continue to utilize its impact to contribute to peace and stability in the Middle East.”
“China supports Iran, which protects the sovereignty, security and national dignity,” the ministry said. “At the same time, China is deeply concerned about the continued escalation of tensions in the Middle East.”
Kasapoal, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Hudson Institute, said Beijing could also provide guidance systems and microprocessors for Iranian ballistic missiles.
“If Iran uses its relations with China to strengthen its destructive military capabilities, the 12-day war could not be a decisive defeat, but merely become a speed bump for the Iranian regime,” he wrote.
Analyst Lair said if Iran resumes production at the Prewar level, the number of missiles produced would make it difficult for Israelis to preemptively destroy or shoot them down.
“They are clearly very invested in missile programs and I don’t think they’ll ever negotiate that,” he said.
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