Missile test / Envato Market

by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Worthy News) – Iran has likely carried out an undeclared missile test at its Imam Khomeini Spaceport, according to satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press, raising fresh concerns over Tehran’s push to expand its missile program even as it rebuilds facilities bombed by Israel during June’s 12-day war.

Satellite photos taken last week show scorch marks on the spaceport’s circular launch pad in Semnan province, consistent with previous launches of solid-fuel rockets. The test has not been acknowledged by Iranian authorities, though a lawmaker has claimed, without evidence, that Tehran successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Lawmaker Claims ICBM Test

Mohsen Zanganeh, a member of parliament’s budget committee, said Saturday on state television that Iran had tested “one of the country’s most advanced intercontinental-range missiles.” He portrayed the launch as a sign of strength against Israel and the West.

“The night before last we tested one of the country’s most advanced missiles, which until now had not been trialed — and that test was successful,” Zanganeh said. “Even under these conditions we are conducting a security test of an intercontinental-range missile.”

If true, the launch would exceed the 2,000-kilometer range limit reportedly imposed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — enough to reach Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East. An ICBM, by contrast, would place all of Europe and potentially parts of the U.S. within reach. Western experts, however, caution that Iranian lawmakers have exaggerated such claims in the past.

Evidence of Solid-Fuel Launch

Analysts said the scorch patterns on the pad suggest a solid-fuel rocket, possibly a Zuljanah — a space-launch vehicle capable of carrying satellites but also raising proliferation concerns. Fabian Hinz of the International Institute for Strategic Studies noted that aluminum oxide residue from solid-fuel engines causes the type of scorching seen in the images.

Social media posts from Sept. 18 also showed contrails over Semnan province, but Iranian officials have not explained the phenomenon.

Missile Program Rebuild Underway

The suspected launch comes as Iran races to rebuild missile-production sites targeted by Israel in June. Satellite images reviewed by AP show repairs at facilities in Parchin and Shahroud, where buildings used to house planetary mixers — critical equipment for producing solid-fuel propellant — had been destroyed.

“Israel’s targeting indicates that they believed mixing was a bottleneck in Iran’s missile production,” said Carl Parkin of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. “If Iran is able to overcome their mixing limitations, they’ll have all the casting capacity they need to start producing at high volumes again.”

Iran had been on track to produce more than 200 solid-fuel missiles per month before the war, Parkin added. During the June conflict alone, Iran fired more than 570 missiles at Israel, according to the Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

Sanctions Loom as UN Meets

The developments come days before United Nations sanctions are expected to be reimposed on Iran over its nuclear program. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is set to address the UN General Assembly this week, even as Tehran signals defiance over Western pressure.

Behnam Ben Taleblu of the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies described the suspected test as part of Tehran’s effort to “build back better, and as quickly as possible” following heavy losses in June.

While the U.S. intelligence community maintains Iran is not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon, its progress in long-range missile technology — combined with uranium enrichment up to 60% purity — continues to alarm Western and Israeli officials.

For now, questions remain: Was Iran’s launch a failed satellite attempt, a weapons test, or simply a show of defiance ahead of renewed sanctions? Without official confirmation, analysts caution that much about the incident remains uncertain.

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