Israel attacks Iran: Researchers say Iran's former nuclear weapons test building, missile facilities were hit

Israel's widespread strikes on Iran on Saturday (Oct 26) hit the latter's former nuclear weapons test building and missile facilities, the news agency Reuters reported on Sunday, citing researchers. 

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

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Speaking to Reuters, Albright and Eveleth said 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.

'Israeli strikes may hamper Iran's ability to mass produce missiles'

Saturday's strikes by the Israeli military were in retaliation for Iran's October 1 missile attack. The Israeli military said three waves of jets struck missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran.

Speaking to Reuters, Decker Eveleth said that the Israeli strikes might have hampered Tehran's ability to mass-produce missiles. 

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The researcher pointed out that with a limited operation, Israel might have made it more difficult for any future Iranian missile attack to pierce Israel's missile defences.

"The strikes appear to be highly accurate," he said.

'Taleghan 2 appears to have been destroyed'

In a series of posts on the social media platform X, David Albright said that 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 programme.

According to the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and American intelligence, Iran shuttered the programme in 2003.

Reuters reported that Albright was given access to the programme's files for a book after they were stolen from Tehran by Israel's Mossad in 2018.

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

Albright pointed out that Iran might have removed key materials before the Israeli strikes. But "even if no equipment remained inside," the building would have provided "intrinsic value" for future nuclear weapons-related activities, he added. 

Meanwhile, 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.

"Israel says they targeted buildings housing solid-fuel mixers. 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," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)