TEHRAN – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has unveiled an underground missile storage facility and announced that it is manufacturing “new special missiles”.
Video released on Iranian national TV IRIB showed IRGC chief Major General Hussein Salami and IRGC Aerospace Force chief Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh touring the facility.
Gen. Hajizadeh called the site a “dormant volcano” accommodating such high-tech missiles as Emad, Qadr and Qiam which run on liquid fuel, even though 90% of the other sections of the “missile city” were not shown for security reasons.
“The volcano lying under these mountains can erupt in the shortest time possible,” IRIB reported.
Part of Iran’s operations code-named True Promise 1 and 2 against the occupying regime of Israel in October and April were carried out using this underground missile base, Mehr News reported.
At an event in Iran’s southwestern city of Abadan on Friday, Gen. Salami also announced the IRGC Aerospace Force is developing “new special missiles.”
Gen. Salami asserted that the Islamic Republic has more missiles than it can store, dismissing the enemy’s propaganda about the
weakening of Iran’s armed forces following attacks by Israel on Iran and its regional allies.
Salami said the IRGC Aerospace Force will unveil more new missiles and missile facilities in the near future.
During the tour of the missile facility, Gen. Salami praised the IRGC forces involved in the two operations against Israel and rejected the enemy’s mistaken belief that Iran’s capability to produce missiles had been harmed.
“Every day, the number of systems and missiles is augmented in the far corners of this land. Maybe the enemy thought that our production power has stagnated, but the growth rate of our missile power is up to date,” the IRGC chief said.
“All components of our power are improving, but missiles, their capacity and capability are increasing and improving every day both in quantity and quality and in efficiency and design.”
On Monday, General Ali Muhammad Naeini announced that Iran would be holding new drills this month that would reveal “missile and drone cities” including an underground city storing missiles and another facility accommodating vessels in the south of Iran.
On Friday, Iranian Basij (volunteer) forces held a large-scale exercise involving 110,000 members in the capital, Tehran, as part of several war games held in recent days by the Iranian armed forces.
Vehicles mounted with rocket launchers, artillery and naval commandos moved through the streets. Fighters in combat gear marched on foot with rocket launchers, and black-clad women carried rifles.
Some dragged coffins decorated with Israeli flags, as flags of Hezbollah flew along with Iranian and Palestinian banners.
An IRGC commander, General Muhammadreza Naghdi, singled out Iran’s enemies the United States and Israel during the gathering. The United States, he said, is “behind all the misfortune in the Muslim world”.
As for Israel, “if we are able to destroy the Zionist regime and withdraw the American bases in the region, one of our big problems will be resolved,” he said.
The IRGC’s commander for the capital, General Hassan Hassanzadeh, said one aim of the rally was to “support the population of Gaza and Palestine”.
Supporting the Palestinian cause has been a pillar of Iranian foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“We also want to show that the Basij are ready to confront all threats from enemies of the Islamic revolution,” Hassanzadeh said.
The Islamic Republic launched some 200 missiles at the Israeli entity’s military, and espionage and intelligence bases all over the occupied territories on October 1 as part of Operation True Promise II.
The operation came in response to the Zionist regime’s assassination of senior leaders of the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance and a senior IRGC commander.
In the early hours of October 26, Israel targeted two Iranian border provinces, Ilam and Khuzestan, as well as Tehran. The country’s integrated air defense system successfully intercepted and countered the aggression.