Satellite imagery has revealed that Iran has rapidly restored access to a substantial portion of its missile arsenal during the ceasefire period between Tehran and Washington.
According to an analysis by CNN, based on satellite images captured by Airbus Defence and Space, Iran has cleared at least 50 tunnel entrances across 18 missile sites since the ceasefire came into effect.
The analysis indicates that Tehran has already regained access to large quantities of missiles stored in underground facilities, many of which had their access points targeted during the war.
Underground Missile Network Reopened
The report contrasted these developments with claims made by US President Donald Trump that Iran’s missile arsenal had been almost entirely destroyed.
However, CNN noted that many of the joint American and Israeli strikes carried out during the conflict primarily targeted tunnel entrances and access points rather than the missiles themselves.
As a result, much of Iran’s missile inventory remained buried underground rather than destroyed.
According to the analysis, Iran is now overcoming the effects of those attacks and restoring access to a vast stockpile of missiles and launchers using little more than bulldozers and recovery trucks.
The Pentagon, meanwhile, continues to maintain that military operations during the war successfully achieved their intended objectives.
Activity Detected at Key Missile Bases
Satellite images captured by Airbus on 10 April show efforts to clear debris from a blocked tunnel entrance at a missile base south of Tabriz.
Additional imagery also shows Iranian crews removing rubble at the Khomeini missile base.
At that location, a truck was observed clearing debris from a tunnel entrance while dump trucks waited nearby to transport the material away.
The images suggest an organised effort to reopen underground missile facilities damaged during the conflict.
Iran Expands Recovery Efforts During Ceasefire
Last week, The New York Times reported that Iran used the ceasefire period to excavate dozens of ballistic missile sites that had been struck during the war, relocate mobile launch platforms, and adjust military tactics in preparation for the possibility of renewed hostilities.
The newspaper quoted a military source as saying that many Iranian ballistic missiles had been stored deep inside underground caves and facilities carved into granite mountains, making them extremely difficult for American aircraft to destroy.
“Therefore, in many cases, the United States bombed the areas surrounding these sites, causing collapses that buried them rather than destroying them,” the source said.
“Iran has since excavated a large number of these locations.”
Activity Reported at Secret Mountain Facility
Additional satellite imagery taken three weeks earlier revealed movement near a secret Iranian facility located at Pickaxe Mountain.
Images captured by Airbus and analysed by the Institute for Science and International Security showed that by 22 April, the two eastern tunnel entrances of the underground complex had been sealed with specialised earth barriers designed to prevent vehicle access.
The findings suggest continued activity at strategic underground sites despite months of airstrikes and claims that Iran’s missile infrastructure had been largely neutralised.
