Analysts Believe Iranian Satellite launch Pad is a Ballistic Missile Testing Site

According to analysts at IHS Jane’s Military and Security Assessments Intelligence Centre in London, satellite imagery indicates the possibility that Iran is building a ballistic missile launching facility near the city of Shahrud.

Iranian officials previously announced the government was building a new space launch pad for its domestic satellite program at the site. Using satellite imagery, the analysts noted the unfinished site has no storage for the liquid rocket fuel used in the Iranian space program – ballistic missiles use solid fuel. Additionally, the site is a good location from which to test long-range missiles, as it is approximately 220 miles east of Tehran, near the Caspian Sea and the Turkmenistan border.

Tehran has denied intent to develop ballistic missiles, according to reports.