Satellite Images Show Iran Rapidly Rebuilding Missile Bases And Infrastructure

Satellite Imagery Shows Reconstruction Efforts at Iranian Missile Bases and Other Sites

Satellite imagery analyzed by Israeli and Western officials indicates that Iran has undertaken repairs to infrastructure damaged during the joint U.S. and Israeli air campaign. The observed work includes missile bases located inside mountains, as well as bridges, ports, and production facilities.

Near Kangavar in western Iran, Planet Labs satellite images from March recorded damage to two tunnel entrances and an access road at a missile base. Subsequent Airbus imagery showed a paved road leading to newly excavated entrances. North of Kermanshah, Planet Labs images from the start of the conflict documented damage to another missile base. By the first week of June, Airbus images showed crews repairing roads, with trucks clearing debris and reopening collapsed tunnel entrances.

A missile base in Dezful was struck by Israel in June 2025 and again in early March, resulting in buried entrances. Three months later, Airbus images showed excavation of multiple tunnel entrances. One Israeli military official stated that Iran repaired a bridge, which had been struck with three bombs, within days.

Planet Labs imagery from early July showed partial reconstruction at a shipyard in Bandar Anzali on the Caspian Sea, associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Israel reported striking dozens of targets there in March, including warships, the port, a command center, and the shipyard. Near Tehran, Planet Labs images show partial reconstruction in recent weeks at Raja Shimi Industries, a facility assessed as involved in missile component production, with several new structures appearing.

Ran Kochav, former commander of Israel’s air and missile defense forces, stated that the observed recovery aligns with Iran’s actions following the 12-day Israel-Iran war last June. “They refilled their stockpiles,” he said. “They have very impressive industrialization and reconstruction capabilities.”

Israeli military officials noted that strikes frequently collapsed entry points to mountain bases rather than destroying internal contents. Weapons inside remained intact, requiring only excavation. One official said, “Iran is rebuilding everything.” Another said Iran retains the technical capacity to rebuild missile and weapons systems.

Jim Lamson, a visiting research fellow at King’s College London and former CIA analyst, said facilities for advanced components such as carbon fiber could require months or years to restore. He added that Iran may have stockpiled such components at underground sites, potentially allowing assembly of dozens or hundreds of new missiles and drones in the short term.

Israeli intelligence services assess that Iran may have moved thousands of centrifuges into tunnels inside Pickaxe Mountain. Satellite imagery from WSJ, BBC Verify, and NYT has also documented reconstruction activity at nuclear sites including Natanz and Isfahan.

The early U.S. and Israeli campaign involved more than 20,000 strikes. President Trump stated last month that Iran’s military is “a complete and total mess” and that much of its navy and air force “doesn’t even exist anymore.” Prime Minister Netanyahu said Iran’s missile production machine was damaged and that the arsenal was depleting without new production. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the operation destroyed Iran’s missile arsenal and production, sank its navy, weakened its militia allies, and prevented it from possessing a nuclear weapon. “This operation was a resounding victory by any objective measure,” she said.

Iran has continued missile and drone attacks on ships and U.S. regional allies, including Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan, where an attack killed three U.S. soldiers. Tal Inbar, senior analyst at the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said, “It turns out that the rumors about the end or the significant dwindling of the missiles were wrong.” Inbar added that Iran’s leaders have not signaled any halt, describing the situation as “a matter of will, time, and money.”