Iran unveils new underground naval base amid tension with US and Israel
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General Hossein Salami (left) touring an underground missile base at an undisclosed location in Iran.
PHOTO: AFP
DUBAI - Iran unveiled an underground naval missile base at an undisclosed Gulf location on Jan 18, state TV said, two days before the start of Donald Trump's second term as president.
It was unveiled at a time when tension with Washington is widely expected to rise. Iranian leaders are concerned that Trump might empower Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strike Iran's nuclear sites, while tightening US sanctions on its oil industry through his "maximum pressure" policy.
State television showed Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami visiting the secret base during war games.
General Salami said it was one of several built underground for vessels capable of launching long-range missiles and carry out distant warfare.
"We assure the great nation of Iran that their young people are capable of coming out honourable and victorious from a battle on the seas against enemies big and small," he said.
State television said the base was built at a depth of 500m somewhere in the Gulf and it showed tunnels with long rows of what it said were a new version of Taregh-class radar-evading speedboats which can launch cruise missiles.
Earlier this month, Iran started military exercises that are due to last two months and have already included war games in which the Revolutionary Guards defended nuclear installations in Natanz against mock attacks by missiles and drones.
Iran, which says its ballistic missiles are an important deterrent and retaliatory force against the US and Israel, has in the past unveiled several underground "missiles cities". REUTERS
