The first satellite images released on Tuesday by the ‘Imagist’ satellite firm that operates the Israeli satellite Eros B, has revealed for the first time a Scud missile factory built in Syria.
An analysis of the images indicates that the factory being developed near the Syrian coast bears the same features as the missile factory in Tehran, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 2 television news.
The advanced missile manufacturing facility, which exhibits apparent underground weapons storage capacity, is situated in Wadi Jan’em, near the coastal town of Banias in northern Syria.
According to what is seen on the satellite imagery, the advanced factory construction began last year and is likely to continue until the end of this year.
The intelligence confirms a report earlier this week by Mossad director Yossi Cohen, who warned Israeli government officials that Iran is spreading its reach into the region via its proxies in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. “As the Islamic State terrorist organization reduces it presence in the region, Iran is working to fill the void,” Cohen said.
Iran has not abandoned its ambition to become a nuclear threshold state, he added. The JCPOA nuclear deal Tehran signed with six world powers in 2015 has only whetted its appetite and strengthened Iranian aggression in the region. “Since the signing of the agreement, new international agreements have only strengthened Iran’s economic growth,” Cohen warned.
Following Cohen’s remarks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed out that current events were clear proof that the basic assumptions in the nuclear agreement with Iran were wrong in the first place. However, he said, “Israel is not bound by any international agreements signed with Iran, and will continue to act decisively and in a variety of ways to protect itself from such threats as necessary.”