Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ naval force unveiled a new underground base on Saturday, according to state TV, just two weeks after presenting a similar site elsewhere.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. The Iranian TV reported that the underground base stores hundreds of cruise missiles capable of countering electronic warfare from enemy destroyers. These missiles can be operational very quickly and reach their targets deep in the sea. Footage also shows missile launchers stored in winding underground tunnels, in an unspecified location in southern Iran.
The head of the Revolutionary Guards, General Hossein Salami, and the naval commander, Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, visited the site. A cruise missile named Ghadr-380, with a range of 1,000 kilometres and anti-jamming capabilities, was also presented, according to Tangsiri.
On 18 January, Iran unveiled their first underground base housing assault ships at a depth of 500 metres near the Gulf and the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.
This show of force comes shortly after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on 20 January. During his previous term (2017-2021), Trump pursued a “maximum pressure” policy towards Iran, which is a sworn enemy of the US. These announcements also come just days before Iran commemorates the 46th anniversary of the Islamic Republic’s establishment on February 10, 1979.
