Satellite image of Iran's missile factory after Israeli attack

The Iranian General Staff said on October 26 that Israeli fighter jets in the dawn raid launched missiles from Iraqi airspace, about 112 km from the Iranian border, targeting military sites and radar stations in the country. Iran said some of its military facilities were hit, but suffered only "light damage and were quickly repaired."

US and Israeli media, citing anonymous sources, said that three waves of Israeli airstrikes in Operation Repentance Day fired missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at about 20 targets in Iran. The first wave targeted Iran's air defense system, including the S-300 system protecting Imam Khomeinei International Airport in Tehran, while the second and third waves focused on the country's missile bases, UAVs and weapons production facilities.

PageWar ZoneThe US has released satellite images taken by Planet Labs showing damage to at least two Iranian plant sites, apparently caused by missiles or UAVs. It is not yet clear what type of missiles or UAVs the IDF used in the attack.

The Parchin base, home to Iran's solid fuel plant for ballistic missile engines, is expected to become operational in 2021 and is located about 1,500 km east of the capital Tehran.

The facility is believed to produce fuel for Scud, Fateh 110 and Zelzal ballistic missiles. The Parchin base was the site of an explosion in October 2014, which Iranian officials blamed on sabotage by Israeli or US intelligence.

At least three fuel manufacturing buildings and a warehouse at Parchin were destroyed, including a rocket fuel mixer facility, according to an analysis by Decker Eveleth, a fellow at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) in Washington.

"Industrial-grade fuel mixers are very difficult to procure and are subject to strict import and export controls. Iran has spent a lot of money over the years importing these devices into the country. It will take them a lot of time to replace what was destroyed," Eveleth said.

Meanwhile, expert David Albright, a former UN weapons inspector and founder of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) in Washington, said that Israel destroyed two fuel production buildings and another building in Parchin.

The buildings are located near a facility that was suspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of being part of Iran's nuclear weapons program, but was closed in 2003.

Iranian officials said at least three missile bases belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were attacked. They confirmed that Iranian air defenses shot down several UAVs used by Israel to attack the Parchin base, but did not provide further details.

Social media also circulated a video showing Israel hitting an industrial area. Obretix, a social media account X that specializes in analyzing open intelligence, posted satellite imagery and geo-located the target of the attack in the town of Shamsabad, south of Tehran, which may be an Iranian UAV component manufacturing facility.

Eveleth said he had access to satellite images showing that Israel also attacked two missile fuel production buildings in the Khojir region, near the capital Tehran. "Israel may have seriously degraded Iran's large-scale missile production capacity," Eveleth said.

Residents of the Salah Alden province in northern Iraq also posted images showing parts of a missile that fell in the area. These appeared to be boosters that separated from Israeli missiles, after they were launched over Iraqi airspace to attack targets in Iran.

Iran accused the US of "colluding" with Israel in the attack, as Iraqi airspace is fully controlled by the US military.

Israeli, Iranian and Iraqi officials have not commented on this information.

On the morning of October 26, the Israeli military (IDF) deployed 100 military aircraft, including F-35I stealth fighters, to launch a series of missiles at military targets in Iran in response to Tehran's attack earlier this month.

Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the October 26 Israeli airstrike as a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter. Tehran reiterated its right to self-defense against "aggression" but has not announced any retaliatory measures.

US President Joe Biden said he had discussed the latest developments in the Middle East with his national security team, stressing that the US military is ready to defend Israel from any further retaliation from Iran and its allies.

However, he also hopes that the exchange of attacks between Israel and Iran "will end here", because Israel only attacks military targets.