Posted on 11/29/2011 11:31:05 PM PST by neverdem
The large, deadly explosion at an Iran military base in Iran on Nov. 12, which Iranian authorities have called an accident that set back research work there by a few days, appears to have been far more devastating than their description suggested, according to an analysis of newly released commercial satellite images of the blast site.
The images reveal vast destruction and chaotic disarray across a sprawling complex composed of more than a dozen buildings and large structures.
The Institute for Science and International Security, a private group in Washington, made the satellite images public Monday, along with an analysis of the damage. “It was pretty amazing to see that the entire facility was destroyed,” Paul Brannan, the report’s author, said Tuesday in an interview. “There were only a few buildings left standing.”
It was impossible to determine from the images whether the explosion had been a simple accident or an act of sabotage.
The force of the explosion was so great that it shook windows in many surrounding towns, according to Iranian news sites and witnesses quoted at the time. But no photographs of the blast damage were released by the Iranian government, which has become increasingly sensitive about its military capabilities as tensions escalate with the West over its missile and nuclear programs.
The base, set in an isolated patch of Iranian desert ringed by a security cordon, is about 30 miles west of Tehran and three miles west of the town of Bidganeh.
The explosion is already known to have killed 17 members of the armed forces, including a founder of the country’s missile program, Gen. Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, presided over a vast state funeral for General Moghaddam and 16 other members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps two days after...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
DigitalGlobe, via Institute for Science and International Security
A commercial satellite image taken approximately two months before the explosion.
I definitely like the “after” photo more. Need some more of those around Iran!
I see that six or seven building have been obliterated. Whatever caused that explosion sure did a great deal of damage.
This looks like the result of several individual explosions as each building seems to have debris scattered radially.
Merely a guess, but I suspect Stuxnet V 2.0
Those Israeli landscape architects can work miracles.
That doesn’t seem so likely. Does Iran use SCADA for gas pipelines?
I don’t see how else this could caused by something like stuxnet.
Building top left. Where event occurred. Do not check to see if wire is hot by grounding with screw driver. That is what the warning label said.
It’s purely coincidence that six or more buildings blew up simultaneously. What a bad run of luck for the Iranians...
That was my thought, too. It doesn't really have the look of a single, accidental explosion. If it's the work of Israel, the Iranians probably don't want to admit it, nor admit that they're powerless to retaliate in kind.
Ah... Mossad....they are so efficient.....and thorough. It warms the cockels of one’s Jewish heart......
And quite frankly it sure sucks to be them!
Yes, I noticed that building was, ahem, gone.
(tee-hee!)
It almost looks like on the “less damaged” buildings the debris is to the left. (Not sure if that would be west or not). Would be interesting to look at this on Google Earth to see if a missle or plane route from the right side of the photo might be logical.
Too bad with all of the accurate stuff at hand nowadays - no bomb craters nearby to give an idea if it was several warheads or not.
An explosion in one building occurred causing sympathetic explosions in other buildings. Doesn’t look like a significant setback.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.