Iran’s Revolutionary Guards unveil underground missile facility for naval warfare

State TV says base holds ‘hundreds of cruise missiles,’ which IRCG chief Salami asserts can ‘create hell for enemy vessels’

This handout photo provided by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official website Sepah News on February 1, 2025, shows IRGC commander-in-chief Major General Hossein Salami (C) alongside navy commander Admiral Alireza Tangsiri (R) talking to a reporter during the unveiling of the Ghadr-380 naval cruise missile in an undisclosed location in Iran. (SEPAH NEWS / AFP)
This handout photo provided by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official website Sepah News on February 1, 2025, shows IRGC commander-in-chief Major General Hossein Salami (C) alongside navy commander Admiral Alireza Tangsiri (R) talking to a reporter during the unveiling of the Ghadr-380 naval cruise missile in an undisclosed location in Iran. (SEPAH NEWS / AFP)

The naval arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unveiled a new underground missile facility on the south coast in footage aired by state television Saturday, two weeks after unveiling an underground naval base.

“Hundreds of cruise missiles capable of countering enemy destroyers’ electronic warfare are stationed in these underground cities,” the station said in its report.

“The systems are being kept hundreds of meters underground and can be operational in a very short time,” it said, without giving an exact location of the base.

“These systems and missiles can be armed and fired from hundreds of kilometers away and can hit targets far out at sea.”

IRGC chief General Hossein Salami toured the base with naval arm commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri.

The report also unveiled a new model of cruise missile dubbed Ghadr-380 which Tangsiri said had “anti-jamming capabilities” and a range of more than 1,000 kilometers (over 600 miles).

This handout photo provided by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official website Sepah News on February 1, 2025, shows IRGC commander-in-chief Major General Hossein Salami (L) alongside navy commander Admiral Alireza Tangsiri talking to a reporter during the unveiling of the Qadr-380 naval cruise missile in an undisclosed location in Iran. (SEPAH NEWS / AFP)

He said the new missiles could “create hell for enemy vessels.”

Last month, the Guards unveiled an underground naval base for assault boats operating in Iran’s southern waters, which include the Gulf and the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

In early January, Iran’s armed forces began a series of exercises, dubbed Eqtedar (Might in Farsi), which are set to continue until mid-March.

Screenshot from Iranian state TV video showing a newly built underground naval base, which Iran says is built 500 meters under the Persian Gulf, January 18, 2025. (Screenshot from X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The drills have included naval maneuvers that saw the unveiling of an advanced reconnaissance ship as well as exercises on safeguarding Iran’s nuclear facilities from attack by Israel or the United States.

The military exercises come as Iran waits to see what policy US President Donald Trump will follow in his second term.

During his first term that ended in 2021, Trump pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran, withdrawing the United States from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and major powers, and reimposing biting sanctions.

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