TEHRAN, Iran – Iran on Monday unveiled underground missile silos for the first time as it kicked off 10 days of large-scale war games, the country’s latest show of military force amid a standoff with the West over its disputed nuclear program.
State TV broadcast footage of deep underground silos, claiming that medium- and long-range missiles stored in them are ready to launch in case of an attack on Iran. The sites are widely viewed as a strategic asset for Iran to launch a strike in the event of a U.S. or Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities.
Col. Asghar Qelichkhani, a spokesman for the war games, said the silos “function as a swift-reaction unit.”
“Missiles, which are permanently in the vertical position, are ready to hit the pre-determined targets,” he was quoted as saying by state TV.
An officer in Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, which is in charge of the missile program, said Tehran has constructed “numerous” underground missile silos which satellites can’t detect. He did not elaborate.
The state television report broadcast footage of underground launching pads for the Shahab-3 missile, which have a range of more than 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers)_ putting Israel, U.S. bases in the Gulf region and parts of southeastern and eastern Europe within reach.
The report also showed pictures of missiles being fired from one silo after a large metal roof opened to allow the missile… >>>
