Three years ago, then-US President Donald Trump tweeted a picture that left experts scratching their heads. It showed a missile exploding on a launch pad in Iran. It was so clear and detailed that some questioned whether it was actually captured by satellite. Now the US intelligence agency has declassified the photo, reports the American radio station NPR.
“This image is very high quality, with a lot of detail,” said Jeffrey Lewis, who analyzes satellite imagery at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, as reported by NPR. “At first I thought it must have been taken by a drone or something,” he added.
However, aviation industry experts have determined that the Iranian object was photographed using a secret optical reconnaissance satellite called United States of America 224. This is one of the greatest “treasures” of American intelligence.
Donald Trump’s tweet from 2019@employee
Secret intelligence lifted the photo
Three years after the then-president tweeted Donald TrumpThe US Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has declassified the original image, confirming its authenticity. As NPR (National Public Radio) points out, the confidentiality was lifted as a result of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by this broadcaster. before that happens, pentagonal Investigate whether the illustration can be made available to the public.
“Many details in the original image have been redacted, which is a clear indication that Trump is sharing valuable intelligence on social media,” said Stephen Overgood, an intelligence expert at the Federation of American Scientists. The FAS is a non-governmental think tank, and among its goals is to proclaim the use of scientific research and analysis to increase security in the world.
– (Trump) had access to the most sensitive intelligence on this subject Iran Apparently, the first thing he wanted to do with them was post them on Twitter.”
Image of the Imam Khomeini Space Flight Center in Semnan released by NGANational Geospatial Intelligence Agency
The latest news and comments come after the FBI in August seized 33 boxes containing dozens of classified documents that the former president kept at a private home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. According to the Washington Post, some of these documents relate to Iran.
Main image source: National Geospatial Intelligence Agency
