Satellite images show Iran carrying out new construction at at least two major missile sites and repairing bases damaged by months of US and Israeli air strikes, according to analysis reviewed by BBC Verify.

Digging at Karaj and Shahroud

Digging and new buildings appear in imagery taken in November at the Garmdareh base in Karaj, near Tehran, and the Shahroud base in northern Iran, analysts at British intelligence company MAIAR told BBC Verify. At least 12 other military sites, including missile complexes and air bases, show signs of repair work, the analysis found. New roofs cover destroyed buildings at the Kermanshah missile base in western Iran, and damaged buildings and debris have been cleared at the Parchin complex east of Tehran.

Moving underground

The images from Karaj appear to show a new entrance to an underground facility, Sam Lair, a research analyst at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told the BBC. Analysts from Janes also identified tunnel entrances at Karaj and structures suggesting an expansion of damaged missile bases. The excavations near Shahroud could be linked to missile production, former CIA analyst Jim Lamson told the BBC. The Institute for the Study of War said Iran could be moving facilities underground to protect them from future strikes, noting Iran's defence minister recently said the country would rebuild its defence industry in places less vulnerable to attack, including mountains.

A race against time

The rebuilding is under way as Washington weighs resuming major military operations against Iran. The Pentagon has said US and Israeli strikes destroyed up to 90 per cent of Iran's drone, missile and naval industrial base, the Wall Street Journal reported. The new imagery suggests Tehran is working to undo some of that damage while diplomacy continues.