Remember that crazy, though possibly true BM-25 story? One detail in the story, originally published by Bild, was that BND had identified a suspect facility near Tabriz.
Reader Allen Thomson noticed that someone recently ordered a Digital Globe Image of Tabriz and found what looks a lot like a missile facility to me at 38.252 N, 46.128 E.
Update: I think this is the text in German:
Bei Täbriz, 600 Kilometer nordwestlich von Teheran, ortete die deutsche Aufklärung eine stationäre Starteinrichtung für den Test von silogestützten Raketen (Entfernung Berlin ca. 2900 Kilometer). Im Klartext: Der „Irre von Teheran“ könnte von dort Ziele in ganz Deutschland erreichen!
If anyone can find the original text, I’d be indebted.
Translation by a native German speaker: “Near Täbriz, 600 kilometers northwest of Teheran, the German intelligence (or clearing, enlightenment) located a stationary starting system (there is probably a fix term for that) for the test of silo-supported rockets (distance from Berlin approximately 2900 kilometers). In plain language: From there, the “Madman of Teheran” could reach targets all over Germany!”
The article you mention is not retrievable from the “Bild” online archive any more. But a nice German beer drinker copied it from bild.de to this (not very sober) Website more than 2 years ago: http://forum.biersekte.de/ptopic,11795.html.
You find the article “BND Geheimbericht – Irans Raketen reichen bald bis nach Berlin” in the middle of the page. That’s the only source I found, so far.
Why does this look like a missile facility to you? I ask because, except for vertical test stands, I’ve never been able to discern a unique characteristic to missile production facilities. The underground facilities are very interesting however.
You find the article also here: http://www.politikcity.de/forum/showpost.php?p=84878&postcount=11
Dear Jeffrey,
Always willing to support I was looking for the BILD-Article, I searched several ( partly obscure) blogs etc. There must have been an article by BILD.de at 12/15/2005 or 12/16/2005 where Bild, the main German tabloid referred to a report from the BND. Unfortunatley they do not have that article online anymore. But I think I still can help: at the same day Handelsblatt ( a newspaper that is reporting about the economy from a liberal-conservative position) and die LInkszeitung ( leftish newspaper) both referr to the BILD-Zeitung and ther quoting of the BND article.
See the following Links:
http://www.handelsblatt.com/news/Default.aspx?_p=200051&_t=ft&_b=1005956
http://linkszeitung.de/content/view/5481/72/
I assume that you speak German and i am quite sure that you personally are familiar with the German press, so please do not feel offended about my comments. But maybe some of your international readers are less familiar with these details. If i can be of further help please let me know.
Sincerley Yours
Martin Dirksen-Fischer
http://www.jfs-medien.de
MartinDirksenFischer@gmx.de
Is it really that surprising that Tehran would choose to protect itself from Israeli nuke attack by having some deterrent force?… under the assumption that this really is a missile facility.
I can’t speak a word of German, so I am not the least offended.
http://www.bild.t-online.de/BTO/news/2005/12/16/iran__raketen/iran__raketen__berlin.html
Caveat Note: Bild has similar credibility as a news source to the New York Post, if not the National Inquirer.
“Aufklarung” is ambiguous between “intelligence” and “reconnaissance”; frex the East German secret service was the Hauptverwaltung Aufklarung (Chief Directorate of Intelligence) and the German army has “panzeraufklarer” units, i.e. armoured/mechanised reconnaissance.
It could be a reference to Germany’s SARLupe radar imaging sat.
Even assuming this is a missle facility – So what? Iran doesn’t exactly make a secret out of its missile program, and would be violating no law or treaty by building missiles. So what’s the big deal?
Is this the Space Center Iran has just announced, or perhaps an ancillary facility? Or is it unconnected?
http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/080204161212.cdd4qysz.html
Regards, C
I’m not a German native speaker, but live there:
Mahmud Ahmadinedschad, president of Iran and the most dangerous man in the world, who wants to annihilate Israel, will soon have Berlin within reach of his rockets!
According to the analysis of the BND [a German intelligence agency], Iran has bought 18 unassembled mobile rockets of type BM-25 (range 2500 km). Ahmadinedschad then had the rockets remodelled, based on the Russian submarine rocket SS-N-6, to obtain a 3500 km range. This is exactly the distance Teheran-Berlin.
Until recently it was only known that Iran posessed Shehab-3 rockets, with a range of 1300 km. The BND has issued a wide-ranging warning based on this new threat: “Germany and other parts of Europe could in the medium to long term be directly affected by the Iranian rocket program.”
According to a recent and secret BND report, in the possession of BILD [the publisher of this article]: “With the future longer ranges and the nuclear capability probably under development, Iran could reach all of Israel as well as parts of central Europe.” The Iranian regime searches to obtain a “first-strike capability”. This would “change” the threat picture for NATO and
Germany.
The BND has information that Iranian experts currently work hard at placing nuclear devices in rocket warheads.
[Near Täbriz, 600 kilometers northwest of Teheran, the German
intelligence [or clearing, enlightenment] located a stationary starting system (there is probably a fix term for that) for the test of silo-supported rockets (distance from Berlin approximately 2900 kilometers). In plain language: From there, the “Madman of Teheran” could reach targets all over Germany!]
Also the US is entering the sights [of Iran]. According to the BND, a delivery of aluminum rings from China has been discovered. These building parts “have as their main use the construction of a multi-stage rocket body with a range of potentially up to 10000 km.”
Bush warned yesterday: “Iran is a real threat”. He confirmed: Together with North Korea and pre-war Iraq, the Teheran regime is
part of the “axis of evil.”
huge base, if you look closely, you will notice a security perimeter all around it on the mountain ridges stretching for more than 7mi.
(and is that a rocket on a trailer, upper left to the pin – almost 7 meters long? Too pixely for my wonky eyes. And what are those pipes/tubes down the south east?)
Aluminum Rings?! Do I need to tell you what you can do with aluminum rings????!!!
No way…watch this
frickin VIACOM took the video off — here it is