Iran has reportedly restored a significant portion of its military infrastructure damaged during attacks by the United States (US) and Israel in recent months, raising questions over the effectiveness of the bombing campaign carried out by both countries.
A report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing satellite image analysis, revealed that reconstruction efforts are actively taking place at several strategic locations, including missile bases, ports and weapons production facilities.
The report stated that Tehran’s ability to rapidly restore its military assets was among the factors allowing Iran to maintain its military operations after tensions with the US intensified again earlier this month following disputes involving the Strait of Hormuz.
One of the locations identified was a missile base in Kangavar, western Iran. Satellite images showed that access roads damaged during an attack in early March had been repaired within weeks, although parts of the entrance remained buried.
Other satellite images also indicated reconstruction work at Bandar Anzali Port, which has been linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Israel had previously claimed that its March strikes caused major damage to IRGC facilities and shipyards in the area.
The WSJ report also highlighted that a missile production facility near Tehran was undergoing repair work based on satellite images captured in early July.
Several Israeli military officials reportedly acknowledged that the developments showed Iran’s ability to quickly restore key strategic facilities after suffering damage from attacks.
One official suggested that Israel should have focused more heavily on military targets rather than government-related facilities to maximise the impact of its strikes.
Another official reportedly admitted that Iran had managed to rebuild almost all of the facilities that were damaged.
Satellite images from Planet Labs also showed that a missile base in Dezful, which was attacked in June 2025 and again in March 2026, had begun excavation work to restore access to underground tunnel networks.
The findings have raised questions over previous claims by the US and Israel regarding the extent of damage inflicted on Iran’s military and strategic infrastructure.
Following US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last year, US President Donald Trump claimed that key nuclear sites had been “completely destroyed”.
US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine previously said more than 1,500 air defence targets, 450 ballistic missile storage facilities and 800 drone storage sites had been destroyed during the first five weeks of the conflict.
He also claimed that around 90 per cent of Iran’s weapons production facilities and nearly 80 per cent of its nuclear industrial infrastructure had been disabled.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it had carried out more than 1,000 waves of attacks involving over 4,000 military targets across Iran, dropping more than 18,000 bombs during the conflict.
The IDF claimed that about 60 per cent of Iran’s estimated 470 ballistic missile launchers were destroyed or disabled.
However, the WSJ report suggested that Iran’s rapid reconstruction efforts indicate the long-term impact of the strikes may not have been as extensive as initially claimed.
The Iran-US conflict intensified again after a ceasefire agreement reached in April collapsed in early July, with both sides resuming attacks.
Iran has continued targeting US military assets in several Gulf countries and vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, while the US and Israel maintain strikes against Iranian military targets.
