Trump promises Iran decision ‘very soon’ as satellites show missile-base rebuilding
Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he would decide shortly whether to strike Iran again: “I would prefer not to destroy what is left of the country, if possible, but I may have to do so. You will know very soon.” Satellite images analysed for the BBC show significant new construction near at least two major missile sites, at Garmdareh and Shahroud, and the Financial Times reports Russia agreed in 2024 to supply Iran with 90 helicopter-borne missile launchers.
Mr Trump said Iran would need “25 years to rebuild the country” and asked: “Do we want to go further … and ensure that this will never happen again?” He also telephoned Qatar’s emir, through whom Iran has passed a nuclear proposal to Washington. The imagery, reviewed by the British intelligence firm MAIAR and former CIA and Irish military analysts, shows a new portal to an underground facility, repairs at a dozen other military sites and fresh excavation near Fordo, which the Pentagon had claimed to have largely destroyed. The Russian launchers, built for the Mi-28 helicopters Iran already flies, were ordered from a state manufacturer for a buyer coded “K-10”; neither report could establish delivery, and the arms analyst Hanna Notte called them “operationally helpful but not the game changer in this war”. Vladimir Putin received Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, in Moscow on Thursday. The Revolutionary Guard said two tankers “struck mines” near Hormuz; maritime authorities confirmed only an explosion at a tanker’s waterline. Rapidan Energy’s Bob McNally puts the odds of renewed fighting at 80%; Brent was near $97 on Friday.