Satellite imagery has revealed damage to a classified Iranian air force base buried inside a mountain in southern Iran, the New York Times reported, in a strike that was never publicly announced and whose origin remains unconfirmed.

The images show impact craters at the tunnel entrances to the “Eagle 44” facility in Hormozgan province, roughly 100 miles north of the Strait of Hormuz. The damage appears to have severed access between the underground hangars and the runway, effectively trapping whatever aircraft were inside. A structure linked to ongoing construction at the site was also destroyed, and additional imagery shows damage to taxiways. Small mounds or barriers visible on the runway appear to have been placed by Iranian forces to prevent enemy aircraft from landing.

The strike reportedly occurred in late March. Israeli officials declined to comment, and the report did not specify whether Israel or the United States carried out the attack. Unlike most documented strikes in Iran, no eyewitness footage of the damage has emerged — satellite imagery is the only visual record.

Eagle 44 holds particular strategic significance. First revealed publicly in 2023, when Iranian media released footage of drones and F-4 Phantom fighter jets stored in its tunnels, it is considered Iran’s first tactical air base purpose-built to shelter jets, bombers and unmanned aerial vehicles in hardened underground facilities. Construction began around 2013. The base takes its name from the 44th anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, the occasion on which it was first disclosed.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)