The New York Times:

By Samuel Granados and Aurelien Breeden

Iran appears to have rapidly repaired several ballistic missile facilities damaged in strikes last year, but it has made only limited fixes to major nuclear sites struck by Israel and the United States, a New York Times analysis of satellite imagery suggests.

The uneven pace of reconstruction offers clues about Iran’s military priorities as the United States amasses forces near it and President Trump weighs new military action. If the United States were to attack, Iran would most likely retaliate with ballistic missiles targeting Israel and U.S. assets in the region.

The United States and Iran were expected to meet in Oman on Friday in an attempt to stave off another conflict. The scope of the talks were not immediately clear, but Iran’s nuclear program was likely to be a key focus.

Experts who closely track Iranian nuclear and missile programs corroborated the analysis by The Times, which looked at around two dozen locations struck by Israel or the United States during the 12-day conflict last June. The Times found construction work at more than half of them.

The experts cautioned that the full extent of the repairs remains unclear, given that satellite imagery offers only an aboveground view of the construction.

The imagery reviewed by The Times indicates that some fixes came soon after the strikes at several missile facilities, suggesting that Iran has made missile production its short-term priority.

“Threatening Israel and U.S. bases and allies in the region with missile attacks is one of Iran’s few options to deter repeat strikes on its nuclear facilities,” John P. Caves III, an expert consultant with the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction at National Defense University in Washington, wrote in an email.

By contrast, experts say, the images of Iran’s damaged major nuclear facilities show only partial repairs and fortification efforts, which picked up pace only in recent months.

Western and Israeli officials have found few signs that Iran has made significant progress toward rebuilding its ability to enrich nuclear fuel and to fashion a nuclear warhead.

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