DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran on Saturday unveiled an underground naval missile base at an undisclosed location in the Gulf, Iranian state television said, two days before the start of Donald Trump's second term as president.
It was revealed at a time when tensions with Washington are widely expected to rise. Iranian leaders are concerned that Trump may enable Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strike Iranian nuclear sites, while tightening US sanctions on the oil industry through his “maximum pressure” policy.
Official television footage showed the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami, visiting the secret base during war games. He said it was one of several ships built underground to be able to launch long-range missiles and wage long-distance wars.
Salami said: “We assure the great Iranian nation that its youth are capable of emerging honorably and victoriously from the battle at sea against enemies, great and small.”
State television said the base was built at a depth of 500 meters somewhere in the Gulf and showed tunnels with long rows of what it said were a new version of radar-evading Targ speedboats that can launch cruise missiles.
Earlier this month, Iran began military exercises scheduled to last the past two months, and have already included war games in which the Revolutionary Guards defended the nuclear facilities at Natanz against mock missile and drone attacks.
Iran, which says its ballistic missiles constitute an important deterrent and retaliatory force against the United States and Israel, has in the past uncovered several underground “missile cities.”
