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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2025/06/13/749760/explainer-which-israeli-bases-nuclear-sites-iran-crosshairs-mulls-retaliation">presstv.ir</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Explainer: Which Israeli bases, nuclear sites are in Iran's crosshairs as it mulls retaliation</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Presstv</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">June 13, 2025</div>
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<img src="cid:ii_mbv1rz0l0" alt="c0be603e-36fa-4d57-b87f-682e9f3ea073.jpg" width="467" height="262"><br><p><strong>By Ivan Kesic</strong></p>
<p><strong>After the barbaric attack by the Israeli regime on Iran early
on Friday, in which many civilian areas were indiscriminately targeted
in Tehran and other cities, the Iranian leadership has vowed an imminent
retaliatory strike against the Zionist entity.</strong></p>
<p>The Tel Aviv regime, backed by the United States, carried out a
large-scale military aggression on multiple locations inside Iran in the
wee hours of Friday morning, targeting nuclear facilities, military
infrastructure, and residential buildings in Tehran and other cities. </p>
<p>After targeting the headquarters of the armed forces, the
regime resorted to extensive terrorist attacks on residential buildings,
resulting in many civilian casualties, including women and children.</p>
<p>The local media reported that the unofficial death toll from the
Zionist terrorist attacks only in Tehran province is estimated at 78
martyrs and over 329 injured.</p>
<p>The Zionist regime also targeted Tehran's two main airports, Imam
Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad Airport, as well as sites in
Tabriz, near its airport, and around Shiraz and Kermanshah.</p>
<p>The Natanz nuclear facility near Isfahan city was also hit, although
only surface damage was caused because the centrifuges were buried deep
underground, so there was no radiation or casualties.</p>
<p>The Fordow uranium enrichment facility, located even deeper in the
mountains and with more advanced centrifuges than the Natanz facility,
was reportedly not touched.</p>
<p>Israeli aerial aggression aimed to set back Iran's nuclear program
significantly, though even a US assessment suggested such strikes might
not affect the program.</p>
<p>Regardless, the very attempt to cause damage constitutes a form of
reckless nuclear terrorism because, in the event of destruction, the
radiation would cause a national and regional catastrophe, according to
military experts. </p>
<p>The Israeli aggression led to the assassination of several
high-ranking Iranian military commanders and scientists, including the
Chief of Staff of Iran\u2019s Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, the commander
in chief of the IRGC, Hossein Salami, the head of the IRGC Aerospace
Forces, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and nuclear scientists Fereydoon
Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi.</p>
<p>Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei called
the strikes a "crime" and promised "severe punishment," warning of a
"bitter and painful fate" for the Israeli regime.</p>
<p>The Iranian Foreign Ministry asserted a "legal and legitimate" right
to respond under the UN Charter, holding the US accountable for
supporting the Zionist aggression.</p>
<p>The IRGC appointed Major General Mohammad Pakpour as its new
commander while Major General Seyed Abdolrahim Mousavi was chosen as the
successor of General Bagheri.</p>
<p>Iran also canceled its participation in a scheduled sixth round of nuclear talks with the US on June 15.</p>
<p>Now, all eyes are on the promised Iranian retaliatory military
action, which is expected to come any time, according to military
sources, and would be unprecedented in scale and intensity. </p>
<p><strong>What are the most likely potential targets?</strong></p>
<p>Considering the types of targets from the previous two retaliatory
operations last year, True Promise I and II, it is likely that Iran's
response will be reciprocal to Israeli aggression.</p>
<p>Due to the Israeli attacks on the Natanz nuclear facility, the most
likely targets are Israeli nuclear facilities, which, unlike those of
Iran, are not under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
control because the Zionist regime is not a member of the
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).</p>
<p>The core of the Israeli nuclear weapons program is the Shimon Peres
Negev Nuclear Research Center (Dimona) near the city of Dimona in the
Negev desert.</p>
<p>The secretive center was expanded recently, based on 2018\u20132021 satellite imagery.</p>
<p>It houses a heavy-water reactor (IRR-2) and a reprocessing plant for
weapons-grade plutonium. Operational since the early 1960s, it\u2019s
believed to have enabled Israel's first nuclear weapons by 1967.</p>
<p>Near Yavne, 20 km south of Tel Aviv, there's also the Soreq Nuclear
Research Center with a 5 MW light-water reactor (IRR-1), focusing on
nuclear science, radiation safety, and some weapons-related research.</p>
<p>Unlike Dimona, Soreq is internationally monitored under IAEA safeguards, but serves as a laboratory akin to US weapons labs.</p>
<p>Suspected storage sites for strategic and tactical nuclear weapons
include Eilabun and Tirosh, respectively. The Rafael factory is further
suspected of handling nuclear weapons assembly and advanced defense
systems development.</p>
<p>Iranian intelligence agencies have recently obtained a trove of
secret Israeli nuclear and military documents, so they are well aware of
the precise location and role of such facilities.</p>
<p>Iran will undoubtedly reciprocate by targeting the air bases from
which Israeli fighter jets took off, firing missiles at Iran from the
territory of neighboring countries.</p>
<p>The primary Israeli airbases are Palmachim, Nevatim, Hatzerim, Hatzor, Ramat David and Tel Nof.</p>
<p>It is to be expected that the target would be vital military bases
and infrastructure, naval ports in Haifa, Ashdod and Eilat, intelligence
headquarters, and other military and intelligence buildings.</p>
<p>The Kirya district in Tel Aviv, known as the "Israeli Pentagon," is
likely one of such targets. It's much larger in scope than it looks on
the map or is officially recognized, due to underground facilities and
classified offices in nearby areas.</p>
<p>Beneath the military complex is the Bor (literally pit), the heavily
fortified underground military command center that is located a few
blocks away from the former prime minister's office, which has now been
moved to occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.</p>
<p>This facility is relatively well protected from attacks by
short-range missiles, cruise missiles and kamikaze drones, but not from
larger ballistic missiles with deep penetration power and a one-ton
high-explosive warhead, so it is a high-value target.</p>
<p>The headquarters of Israeli intelligence services are classified,
without official addresses, and most often masquerade as civil function
buildings.</p>
<p>In recent decades, the Israeli regime authorities have started
selling land in Kirya, on which many "multipurpose" high-rises have been
built, due to its attractive location in the center of the city.</p>
<p>This "multi-purpose" most often implies the regime and some other
function, with the former containing multi-levels of the regime,
military and intelligence offices.</p>
<p>Iranian military officials have repeatedly warned that the country\u2019s
indigenous missiles are capable of striking deep within the occupied
territories, with the power to devastate Tel Aviv and Haifa.</p>
<p>While the exact target of Iran\u2019s response to the latest terrorist
attacks remains uncertain, there is a strong possibility it will be
aimed deep inside the occupied lands to make the regime regret its
crimes.</p>
<p>Thanks to the advanced precision of Iranian weaponry, the primary
risk to ordinary settlers in the occupied territories comes not from the
missiles themselves but from the debris of their own interceptor
systems, whether or not those interceptors successfully neutralize the
incoming threats.</p>
<p><strong>Is Iran militarily capable of striking the Israeli regime?</strong></p>
<p>Despite enduring draconian and illegal sanctions for decades, Iran\u2019s
military has made remarkable advancements, indigenously producing
world-class drones, missiles, and fighter jets capable of striking
distant targets with precision.</p>
<p>Importantly, the Islamic Republic of Iran has never initiated an
attack on any country. Its formidable arsenal is strictly maintained for
defensive purposes.</p>
<p>For any necessary retaliatory action, Iran possesses a diverse and
sophisticated array of military technology designed for precise
long-range strikes, proven effective whenever deployed.</p>
<p>Iran possesses one of the largest missile arsenals in the world and
the largest in the region, comprising ballistic, quasi-ballistic,
cruise, and hypersonic missiles developed under sanctions and embargoes.</p>
<p>Unlike most countries that rely heavily on air power, Iran has
concentrated its long-range military capabilities on ballistic missile
technology over the past decades.</p>
<p>In the 1990s, Iran developed its first medium-range ballistic
missiles capable of reaching all regional adversaries, followed by the
miniaturization of missiles with enhanced accuracy.</p>
<p>Among the larger ballistic missiles capable of reaching occupied
territories today are the Shahab-3, Ghadr-110, Fajr-3, Ashura, Sajjil,
Emad, Qiam-1, Rezvan, Khorramshahr, and Kheibar, each typically carrying
a 1-ton warhead.</p>
<p>In addition, Iran fields smaller ballistic missiles such as the
Dezful, Kheibar Shekan, and Haj Qasem, usually with half-ton payloads.</p>
<p>A significant advancement is the new precision-guided Fattah
hypersonic missile, which achieves terminal speeds between Mach 13 and
15, alongside its glider variant, Fattah-2.</p>
<p>Regarding long-range cruise missiles, Iran operates several advanced
systems, including the Soumar, Meshkat, Ya-Ali, Hoveyzeh, Abu Mahdi,
Paveh, Talaiyeh, and Qadr-474 supersonic missiles, as well as loitering
munitions like the Ababil, Arash, Shahed-131, Shahed-136, and
Shahed-238.</p>
<p>Unconfirmed reports also suggest Iran may have acquired Russian
supersonic cruise missiles such as the P-270 MVE Moskit (SS-N-22
Sunburn), 3M54-1 Kalibr, and P-800 Oniks, potentially enhancing its
missile capabilities further.</p>
<p>Iran\u2019s combat drone fleet is extensive and varied, featuring models
like the Shahed-129, Shahed-149 Gaza, Shahed-171 Simorgh, Shahed-191
Saegheh, Karrar, Kaman-22, Mohajer-6, Mohajer-10, and Fotros, all
capable of carrying bombs and air-to-ground missiles.</p>
<p>While the Islamic Republic also operates manned attack aircraft
capable of striking distant targets, it is unlikely to deploy them
extensively due to the high risk to pilots and the costly nature of such
equipment.</p>
<p>It is crucial to note that all the weapon systems mentioned are
capable of launching strikes directly from Iranian territory. Should
allied resistance movements join the fight, the diversity and scale of
Iran\u2019s arsenal would significantly increase.</p>
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