Iran Guards show off underground ‘missile city,’ claim ‘enemy’ falling behind
Iran’s military chief claims capabilities are now 10 times stronger than thoseused in October missile attack on Israel; several Iranian-made missiles identified in footage
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps revealed one of its underground “missile cities” to Iranian media outlets Wednesday, as tensions with the West boiled over its nuclear program.
An Israeli flag could be seen placed on the ground in the footage at the unveiling — a practice common in the Islamic Republic that allows people to trample the flag as an offense against the Jewish state.
Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, and the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, were present in the footage, touring around on vehicles and speaking to personnel at the undisclosed location.
Bagheri told personnel during the tour of the base that “Iran’s iron fist is far stronger than before,” and claimed that Tehran was developing its defensive capabilities faster than its rivals, as quoted by Press TV.
“The enemy will definitely fall behind in this balance of power,” he said.
“All the [defensive] dimensions that are required for generating a [military] capability that is 10 times [greater than] the one deployed during Operation True Promise II, has been created,” Bagheri added, mentioning Iran’s name for its second missile attack on Israel in October.
#Iran’s IRGC unveils new underground #missile base which is home to thousands of precision-guided missiles including Kheibar Shekan, Haj Qasem, Ghadr-H, Sejjil, Emad, and more. https://t.co/feMwOqIAM1 pic.twitter.com/FSLLknsONb
— Iran Nuances (@IranNuances) March 25, 2025
Iranian media outlets identified several domestically produced missiles in the footage, including the “Emad,” a missile with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles); “Sejil” with 1,500-2,500 kilometers (930 to 1,550 miles); “Qadr H” with 1,700 kilometers (1,056 miles); “Kheibar Shekan,” with 1,450 kilometers (900 miles) and “Haj Qassem,” with 1,400 kilometers (870 miles).
Iranian media outlets said the base was new, but such a claim could not be verified.
Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel in April 2024, firing some 300 attack drones and missiles in response to the killing of several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members in an airstrike near Tehran’s consulate in Damascus.
Months later, in October, Iran launched some 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for the killings of Hassan Nasrallah and Ismail Haniyeh, the leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, respectively.
In both instances, the Iranian assaults were largely thwarted by Israel’s air defenses in cooperation with the US and its regional allies. Israel twice bombed Iran in response, the second time destroying much of its air defense systems as well as some rocket and drone manufacturing sites.
Amid growing concern in the West over Iran’s continued nuclear enrichment, US President Donald Trump sent the Islamic republic’s leadership a letter offering talks for a new nuclear deal earlier this month while restoring a sanctions campaign and threatening military action if diplomacy is unsuccessful.
The letter was delivered to Tehran on March 12 by UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said Monday the door was open for “indirect negotiation” on the matter but dismissed the prospect of direct talks “until there is a change in the other side’s approach toward the Islamic republic.”
The top Iranian diplomat said Tehran would not engage in direct talks with Washington under threats so long as Trump maintains his “maximum pressure” policy of economic sanctions.
Iran, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, denies seeking a nuclear weapon, but it has ramped up its enrichment of uranium up to 60 percent purity, the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so, and has obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities.
The Times of Israel Community.