Base near Tehran may have been researching and developing ballistic missiles.
By David Hellerman, World Israel News
An explosion at a location said to be a secret Iranian missile base killed two people on Sunday. It’s not clear what caused the blast, but satellite images released on Thursday by a private Israeli intelligence firm showed the extent of the damage.
The images, taken by the Tel Aviv-based ImageSat International, show what is said to be a missile base belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. ImageSat referred to the site as the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, west of Tehran.
A quarter of the building appears to be completely destroyed. It wasn’t clear what the building’s specific purpose was.
The IRGC confirmed that two of its personnel were killed in the explosion at what it described as a “research self-sufficiency center.” This may have been a reference to the Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization, which in 2017 was sanctioned by the United States Treasury for “researching and developing ballistic missiles.”
Iran has been plagued with mysterious fires and explosions in nuclear, military-industrial and petrochemical facilities over the last year. The incidents are widely attributed to Israeli sabotage, though Iran often refers to them as accidents.