Iran is constructing a new underground weapons storage facility in eastern Syria at a military base under its control near the Iraqi border, a private Israeli satellite imagery analysis firm said Wednesday.
According to satellite photographs released by ImageSat International, an excavator and bulldozers have been seen operating within the Imam Ali base in the al-Bukamal region of Syria, which is believed to be run by Iranian forces.
The intelligence firm, citing photographs of the base from April 1 and Tuesday, said that work on the underground weapons storage facility appears to have started in March.
“The tunnel is fit to be used as a shelter and storage for trucks and vehicles, including vehicles carrying advanced missile weapon systems,” ImageSat said in its assessment.
It is the second such subterranean tunnel to be constructed at the base, which is located a few kilometers from the Iraqi border.
Construction of the first tunnel was halted when the base was attacked shortly after the underground facility was revealed by ImageSat last December. It was not the only case of suspected areas of Iranian military entrenchment being identified and publicized by ImageSat shortly before the sites were targeted in airstrikes attributed to Israel.
Wednesday’s revelation of Iran’s alleged further entrenchment in Syria appears to contradict a claim made by a senior Israeli defense official earlier this month that Tehran was pulling its troops out of the country in response to airstrikes against its forces that have been attributed to Israel.
“The construction of the new tunnel signifies Iran’s commitment to further developing its military presence in this area, despite repeated attacks,” ImageSat said in its assessment.
Also on Wednesday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah mocked the defense official’s claim that Iran was fleeing Syria, even dismissing the notion that there were Iranian troops in the country.
“In Syria there is an imaginary battle that Israel is waging, called ‘not allowing the presence of Iranian military troops in Syria,’” Nasrallah said, insisting that only “Iranian military advisers and experts,” not fighters, are there.
In December, ImageSat reported that a different tunnel — also suspected as a means to store advanced weaponry — was being built on the Imam Ali military base.
The base has been the site of several Israeli airstrikes in the past year.
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