Iran's "Operation Truthful Promise - وعده صادق" on Israel :

[ghazi52]

Satellite images show damage on Israeli air base after Iranian attack​

Nevatim air base in southern West Bank shows major changes in satellite images taken between April 12 and 14

News Desk
April 24, 2024

Nevatim Airbase, located in the southern West Bank and west of the Dead Sea. PHOTO: GOOGLE MAPS

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Following the events of April 13 when Iran launched an attack on Israel, conflicting reports have emerged regarding the success and impact of the assault. While Iran boasts of a successful strike, Israel contends that the attack was thwarted.

A BBC report analysed the satellite imagery to unravel the facts surrounding Iran's attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli response.

Iran's aerial assault on Israel on April 13 was in retaliation to an attack on its embassy in Damascus, dubbed "Vada Sadiq" by Iran. Reports indicate that Iran deployed approximately 300 missiles and suicide drones during the early hours of that day. However, Israel claimed to have intercepted most of these projectiles with the aid of the 'Aero' air defence system and regional allies, averting significant damage to Israeli territories.

According to Israeli military sources, Iran's attack comprised 170 drones, 120 ballistic missiles, and 30 cruise missiles, executed in three phases targeting military installations rather than civilian centres.

The Aerospace Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, under the leadership of Amir Ali Hajizadeh, spearheaded this assault. However, precise details regarding the types and numbers of drones and missiles employed remain undisclosed.
Initial statements from the Revolutionary Guards on Iran's state television asserted that specific targets within Israel were hit using drones and missiles.
Subsequent reports showcased Iranian drones, Paveh cruise missiles, Emad-3 ballistic missiles, and other Iranian ballistic missiles like Khyber Shahkan and Kadir.

Iranian media have shown images of missiles and drones fired at Israel. PHOTO: IRIBNEWS
Iran claims to have struck the Nevatim air base and the Hermon intelligence base in the Golan Heights during the attack.

Satellite imagery analysis conducted by BBC sheds light on the aftermath of the attack, comparing images before and after the incident.
Notable changes, including damage to the Nevatim air base, have been observed. The base, strategically significant due to its proximity to Israel's Dimona nuclear facility, reportedly sustained minor damage, as confirmed by Israeli authorities. Images reveal alterations to the runway and infrastructure, corroborating reports of the attack's impact.

Location of Nevatim Air Base. PHOTO: MICROSOFT

Assessing damage and claims at Nevatim Airbase

Nevatim air base, located in the southern West Bank and west of the Dead Sea, has witnessed significant changes as depicted in satellite images taken between April 12 and 14.

These images reveal alterations in at least four locations within the base, notably on the runway where a large scar is visible post-attack. Israeli authorities have confirmed "minor" damage to the base, with repairs underway as showcased in a video released by the Israeli military.

Four place where damage is detected at Nevatim Base. Condition on April 12 (L) and April 13 (R). PHOTO: PLANET LABS (PBC)

Satellite images of the southern runway of Nevatim Base. Condition on April 12 (L) and April 13 (R). PHOTO: PLANET LABS (PBC)

The runway repairs captured in the video align with satellite imagery showing a major change in the same location, indicating the extent of damage caused by the Iranian attack. The proximity of the damaged area to the hangar of Israeli fighter jets highlights the strategic significance of this target.

IDF footage shows repairs to the sou
th runway near a hangar at the Navatim base. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB
While Israel downplays the impact, Iran contends that the base houses Israeli F-35 stealth fighter jets allegedly involved in attacks on Iranian targets. However, Israel has neither confirmed nor denied these claims.

According to former United Nations weapons inspector Scott Reiter, "Nevatim air base was hit by five to seven missiles." American network ABC quoted some Israeli sources as saying that the base was hit by five missiles.

Hermon intelligence base and Ramon Airbase

BBC also delved into the details surrounding Hermon's intelligence base in Israel and the claims made by both sides in the aftermath of the conflict.

Hermon's intelligence base, situated in the Golan Heights near the Syria-Iraq border, holds strategic importance as the reputed headquarters of Israel's crucial military intelligence unit 8200.

Responsible for electronic intelligence, 8200 is considered Israel's largest and most critical intelligence unit. The base's proximity to volatile border regions underscores its significance in gathering crucial information for Israeli security operations.

During the conflict, Iranian Revolutionary Guards claimed that Hermon's intelligence base was involved in gathering intelligence for an attack on their consulate, thus justifying Iran's targeting of the base.

However, the lack of ground evidence and specific site data makes it challenging to ascertain the nature and extent of any damage inflicted on the base.
Iranian state media alleged that the Ramon air base was also successfully targeted. Still, Israeli authorities have refuted these claims, citing a lack of substantial evidence and ground verification.

Mohammad Baqheri, chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, specifically named Hermon intelligence base and Nevatim air base as targets in a television interview, further highlighting the conflicting narratives surrounding the targets of the attacks.

Satellite imagery comparisons conducted post-attack have revealed minimal changes near the targeted military bases, with no significant evidence of damage or alterations.

Satellite images show Israeli air base damage from Iranian attack | The Express Tribune

Nevatim Airbase in southern West Bank shows major changes in satellite images taken between April 12 and 14

tribune.com.pk

 

[ghazi52]

Israel has launched what it described as “precise and targeted” airstrikes on Iran in retaliation for Tehran's barrage of missile strikes against Israel earlier this month.

It is the latest in a series of exchanges between Israel and Iran that for months have sparked fears of an all-out regional war.

But while Iran says the strikes against military sites killed two soldiers, early indications suggest the attacks were more limited than had been feared.

Here’s what we know.

How did the attacks unfold?​

Shortly after 02:00 local time (23:30 BST), Iranian media reported explosions in and around the capital, Tehran.

Video uploaded to social media and verified by the BBC showed projectiles in the sky over the city, while residents in some areas reported hearing loud booms.

Around 02:30, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it was carrying out “precise” strikes on “military targets” in Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant followed the operation from the IDF’s command and control centre in Tel Aviv.

Just after 06:00, the IDF said the strikes had concluded.

The White House described the strikes as an “exercise of self-defence”. A senior administration official said the US had worked with Israel to encourage a "targeted and proportional" response.

What was the scale of the attacks?​

The extent of the attacks - and the damage caused - remains unclear at this stage.

The IDF said it hit around 20 targets, including missile manufacturing facilities, surface-to-air-missiles and other military sites.

The Iranian military confirmed that two soldiers had died “while battling projectiles”.

Iranian authorities said sites in Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam provinces were targeted. The country’s air defence said it had “successfully intercepted” the attacks, but that “some areas sustained limited damage”.

BBC Verify has identified damage at a defence ministry base to the east of Tehran, and at an air defence base to the south.

A senior US administration official said the attacks did not include Iranian oil infrastructure or nuclear facilities, targets President Joe Biden had urged Israel not to hit.

Syrian state media also reported strikes on military sites in central and southern Syria, though Israel has not confirmed striking the country.

What happens next?​

Early signs indicate this attack was not as serious as some had feared.

US outlet Axios reported that prior to the attacks, Israel sent Iran a message revealing certain details about the attack, and warning Tehran not to respond.

That could be a sign Israel does not want to escalate the situation further - at least for now.

“We are focused on our war objectives in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. It is Iran that continues to push for a wider regional escalation,” the IDF said in a statement.

A senior US official said "this should be the end of this direct exchange of fire between Israel and Iran.”

Iran’s foreign ministry said it was "entitled and obligated to defend itself" and described the attack as a violation of international law.

But it also said that Tehran recognises its "responsibilities towards regional peace and security".

 

[Novus ordu seclorum]

This video says 96% interception of missiles. Can anti aircraft guns be computer controlled to shoot targets based on radar information.

 

[Novus ordu seclorum]

Iran is backing down

Iran has expectation of ceasefire, while Israel decides to escalate, retaliate, or ceasefire. Israel has escalated before after Iranian ceasefire expectation.

 

[ghazi52]

Satellite photos show Israel hit Iran former nuclear weapons test building, missile facilities, researchers say​

• Iran's military says the Israeli warplanes used 'very light warheads' to strike border radar systems in the provinces of Ilam, Khuzestan, and around Tehran

Reuters
October 27, 2024

A general view of Tehran after several explosions were heard, in Tehran, Iran, October 26, 2024. Photo: Reuters

WASHINGTON: An American researcher said an Israeli airstrike on Saturday hit a building that was part of Iran’s defunct nuclear weapons development program, and he and another researcher said facilities used to mix solid fuel for missiles also were struck.

The assessments based on commercial satellite imagery were reached separately by David Albright, a former UN weapons inspector, and Decker Eveleth, an associate research analyst at CNA, a Washington think tank.

They told Reuters that Israel struck buildings in Parchin, a massive military complex near Tehran. Israel also hit Khojir, according to Eveleth, a sprawling missile production site near Tehran.

Reuters reported in July that Khojir was undergoing massive expansion. Eveleth said the Israeli strikes may have “significantly hampered Iran’s ability to mass produce missiles.”

The Israeli military said three waves of Israeli jets struck missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran early on Saturday in retaliation for Tehran’s Oct. 1 barrage of more than 200 missiles against Israel.

Iran’s military said the Israeli warplanes used “very light warheads” to strike border radar systems in the provinces of Ilam, Khuzestan and around Tehran.

In posts on X, Albright said commercial satellite imagery showed that Israel hit a building in Parchin called Taleghan 2 that was used for testing activities during the Amad Plan, Iran’s defunct nuclear weapons development program.

The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and US intelligence say Iran shuttered the program in 2003.

Iran denies pursuing nuclear weapons. Albright, head of the Institute for Science and International Security research group, was given access to the program’s files for a book after they were stolen from Tehran by Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency in 2018.

On X, he said the archives revealed that Iran kept important test equipment in Taleghan 2.

Iran may have removed key materials before the airstrike, he said, but “even if no equipment remained inside” the building would have provided “intrinsic value” for future nuclear weapons-related activities.

Albright told Reuters that commercial satellite imagery of Parchin showed Israel damaged three buildings about 350 yards (320 m) from Taleghan 2, including two in which solid fuel for ballistic missiles was mixed.

He did not identify the commercial firm from which he obtained the images.

Eveleth said an image of Parchin from Planet Labs, a commercial satellite firm, showed that Israel destroyed three ballistic missile solid fuel mixing buildings and a warehouse in the sprawling complex.

Planet Labs imagery also showed that an Israeli strike destroyed two buildings in the Khojir complex where solid fuel for ballistic missiles was mixed, he said.

The buildings were enclosed by high dirt berms, according to the image reviewed by Reuters.

Such structures are associated with missile production and are designed to stop a blast in one building from detonating combustible materials in nearby structures.

“Israel says they targeted buildings housing solid-fuel mixers,” Eveleth said. “These industrial mixers are hard to make and export-controlled. Iran imported many over the years at great expense, and will likely have a hard time replacing them.”

With a limited operation, he said, Israel may have struck a significant blow against Iran’s ability to mass-produce missiles and made it more difficult for any future Iranian missile attack to pierce Israel’s missile defenses.

“The strikes appear to be highly accurate,” he said. Axios reported that Israel destroyed hit 12 “planetary mixers” used to produce solid fuel for long-range ballistic missiles, quoting three unnamed Israeli sources as saying this severely damages Iran’s ability to renew its missile stockpile and could deter Iran from further massive missile strikes against Israel.

Iran has the Middle East’s largest missile arsenal and supplied missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine, and to Yemen’s Houthi rebels and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, according to US officials.

Tehran and Moscow deny that Russia has received Iranian missiles.

Planet Labs imagery reviewed earlier this year by Eveleth and Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey showed major expansions at Khojir and the Modarres military complex near Tehran that the pair assessed were for boosting missile production, Reuters reported.

Three senior Iranian officials confirmed that conclusion.

Satellite photos show Israel hit Iran former nuclear weapons test building, missile facilities, researchers say​

Iran's military says the Israeli warplanes used 'very light warheads' to strike border radar systems in the provinces of Ilam, Khuzestan, and around Tehran
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