| Underground missile bases Missile Cities | |
| Native Name: | پایگاه های موشکی زیرزمینی ایران |
| Location: | Unknown, multiple locations |
| Country: | Iran |
| Type: | Missile bases |
| Operator: | IRGC Aerospace Force |
| Height: | zero, 500 m deep |
According to Iranian authorities, Iranian underground missile bases or silos (Persian: پایگاه های موشکی زیرزمینی ایران ), also known as the Missile Cities (Persian: شهرهای موشکی) exist in all provinces and cities of Iran.[1] [2] The bases contain road-mobile transporter erector launcher trucks, along with other hardware. A video from one of the missile sites was released for the first time on 14 October 2015 by Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of Aerospace Force of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution.[3] This was just a few days after news of the testing of a new-generation medium-range ballistic missile, the Emad, was broadcast by the state media of Iran.[4] Amir Ali Hajizadeh stated that: "Iranian missiles of varying ranges are ready to be launched from underground bases once Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei orders to do so," adding that "Iran created missile bases in all the provinces and cities throughout the country at a depth of 500 meters."
Bases were again displayed on TV on January 5, 2016, amid heightened tensions with Saudi Arabia following the execution of Shi`ìte cleric Nimr al-Nimr.[5] The second-in-command of the Revolutionary Guards boasted that Iran's depots and underground facilities were so full that it didn't know where to store new missiles.[6]
The release of the footage of the Iranian underground missile bases provided the situation for the lawmakers to show that the July nuclear deal had not weakened the military of Iran and it was a show of strength by Iran in response to the western powers, especially the US, speaking of military options against Iran in spite of the nuclear deal, according to The Guardian.[7] Hajizadeh said that Iran was not seeking to start a war but "if enemies make a mistake, missile bases will erupt like a volcano from the depth of earth."[8]
According to Tal Inbar a senior Israeli defense expert and head of the Space Research Center at the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies in Herzliya, this missile base "enables the Islamic Republic to store and covertly fire surface-to-surface missiles." He described the underground facility, whose location is unknown, as a "complex system of enormous tunnels". He also added that those bases could be used by Iran for "a surprise barrage missile attack".[9]
| Missile base | Province | Coordinates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Khorramabad Underground Missile Base[10] Most missile silos on a base in the nation | Lorestan | ||
| Kenesht Canyon Underground Base North[11] | Kermanshah | ||
| Panj Pelleh Underground Missile Base | Kermanshah |