Iran starts rebuilding missile sites hit by Israel, but experts say a
key component is missing
[September 24, 2025]
By JON GAMBRELL
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has begun rebuilding
missile-production sites targeted by Israel during its 12-day war in
June, satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press show, but a key
component is likely still missing — the large mixers needed to produce
solid fuel for the weapons.
Reconstituting the missile program is crucial for the Islamic Republic,
which believes another round of war with Israel may happen. The missiles
are one of Iran’s few military deterrents after the war decimated its
air defense systems — something that Tehran long has insisted will never
be included in negotiations with the West.
Missile experts told AP that obtaining the mixers is a goal for Tehran,
particularly as it prepares for possible United Nations sanctions to be
reimposed on the country later this month. The sanctions would penalize
any development of the missile program, among other measures. Iranian
President Masoud Pezeshkian is due to address the United Nations General
Assembly on Wednesday.
Known as planetary mixers, the machines feature blades that revolve
around a central point, like orbiting planets, and offer better mixing
action than other types of equipment. Iran could purchase them from
China, where experts and U.S. officials say they've purchased missile
fuel ingredients and other components in the past.
"If they’re able to reacquire some key things like planetary mixers,
then that infrastructure is still there and ready to get rolling again,”
said Sam Lair, a research associate at the James Martin Center for
Nonproliferation Studies who studied Iranian missile sites.
Iran's mission to the United Nations did not respond to questions about
the country's efforts to rebuild its missile program.
Israeli war targeted solid-fuel missile sites
Solid-fuel missiles can be fired faster than those using liquid fuel,
which must be loaded just before launch. That speed can make the
difference between launching a missile and having it destroyed in a
launcher — something that happened during the war with Israel.
Iran has solid-fuel missile manufacturing bases at Khojir and Parchin,
two sites just outside Tehran, as well as at Shahroud, some 350
kilometers (215 miles) northeast of the capital. Even before the most
recent war, all of those sites came under Israeli attack in October 2024
during hostilities between the countries.
Attacks during the war in June appeared aimed at destroying buildings
that housed the mixers, which are needed to ensure the missile fuel is
evenly combined, according to experts. Other sites struck by Israel
included manufacturing facilities that likely could be used to make the
mixers.
Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC taken this month and analyzed by
AP show construction at both the Parchin and Shahroud facilities.
At Parchin, mixing buildings appear to be under repair, Lair said, and
similar rebuilding is happening at Shahroud involving mixing buildings
and other structures.
The speed at which Iran is rebuilding shows the importance Tehran puts
on its missile program. Iran's bombed nuclear sites so far have not seen
the same level of activity.
During the war, Iran fired 574 ballistic missiles at Israel, according
to the Washington-based Jewish Institute for National Security of
America, which has a close relationship with the Israeli military. In
two exchanges of fire before the war, Iran launched another 330
missiles, the think tank said.
The Israeli military had estimated Iran's total arsenal at around 2,500
missiles, meaning that over a third of its missiles were fired.
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This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows reconstruction
efforts at Iran's Parchin solid propellant plant outside of Tehran,
Iran, Aug. 28, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
Before the war, Iran was on track to be able to produce more than
200 solid-fuel missiles a month, said Carl Parkin, a summer fellow
at the James Martin Center. That drew Israeli strikes to
missile-building facilities.
“Israel’s targeting indicates that they believed mixing was a
bottleneck in Iran’s missile production,” he said. “If Iran is able
to overcome their mixing limitations, they’ll have all the casting
capacity that they need to start producing at high volumes again.”
The Israeli military declined to respond to questions over its
strategy. Iran's defense minister, Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh, recently
claimed Tehran now has new missiles with more advanced warheads.
“The 12-day war with Israel has altered some of our priorities," he
said on Aug. 22. "We are now focused on producing military equipment
with higher precision and greater operational capabilities.”
Chinese mixers seen at Syria missile site affiliated with Iran
Iran may choose to rely on China to obtain mixers and the chemicals
to make solid fuel.
Such chemicals may have caused a massive explosion in April that
killed at least 70 people at a port in Iran. Iran still has not
explained the blast, which happened as its diplomats met with
Americans in Oman over its nuclear program.
Just days after the explosion, the U.S. State Department sanctioned
Chinese firms it said provided the Islamic Republic with “ballistic
missile propellant ingredients.”
Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guard likely supplied a planetary
mixer to an underground ballistic missile construction facility in
Syria near the town of Masyaf, some 170 kilometers (105 miles) north
of the capital, Damascus, near the Lebanese border. Footage released
by the Israeli military months after the September 2024 raid on the
facility showed the mixer, which bore a resemblance to others sold
online by Chinese firms.
Iran's president and military officials visited Beijing earlier
this month for China's Victory Day parade. Iran's government has
provided no detailed readout on what Pezeshkian said to Chinese
President Xi Jinping, and China's state-run media offered no
indications that Tehran asked for help.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, asked about possibly supplying Tehran
mixers and fuel ingredients, told AP that Beijing is “willing to
continue leveraging its influence to contribute to peace and
stability in the Middle East.”
“China supports Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty,
security and national dignity,” the ministry said. “At the same
time, China is deeply concerned about the continued escalation of
tensions in the Middle East.”
Can Kasapoğlu, a senior fellow with the Washington-based Hudson
Institute, said Beijing could supply guidance systems and
microprocessors as well for Iran's ballistic missiles.
“If Iran uses its relationship with China to bolster its disruptive
military capabilities, the 12-day war could be a mere speed bump for
the Iranian regime, rather than a decisive defeat,” he wrote.
Lair, the analyst, said if Iran restarts its production at prewar
levels, the sheer number of missiles produced will make it harder
for the Israelis to preemptively destroy them or shoot them down.
“They are clearly very invested in their missile program, and I
don’t think that they’re going to negotiate it away, ever," he said.
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