Click to see the full-size image
The Navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) unveiled on January 18 an underground base accommodating various combat vessels.
The IRGC’s official news outlet Sepah News described the underground base as one of several “cities” for the guard’s navy.
The was unveiled in a ceremony attended by IRGC’s Chief Commander Hossein Salami and Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the naval forces, the report said.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Salami said the IRGC’s Navy operates many such underground bases housing different combat, missile-launching, and mine-laying vessels. He also emphasized that the newly unveiled base is only a small part of the force’s overall defense capabilities.
“We assure the great nation of Iran that their young people are capable of coming out honorable and victorious from a battle on the seas against enemies big and small,” Salami said.
Iran’s state television said that the base was built at a depth of 500 meters somewhere in the Gulf. Footage of the base showed tunnels with long rows of what it said were a new version of Taregh-class radar-evading speed boats that can launch cruise missiles, and said that some of the vessels were “capable of destroying United States warships and destroyers.”
Earlier this month, Iran started military exercises that are due to last two months and have already included war games in which the IRGC defended nuclear installations in Natanz against mock attacks by missiles and drones. It also unveiled an underground “missile city”.
The recent moves by the Iranian military and the IRGC appear to be an attempt to deter both the U.S. and Israel. Recent media reports suggest that Israel will be shifting focus to Iran after the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is planning to ramp up pressure against Tehran and may even consider strikes against the country’s nuclear facilities.
MORE ON THE TOPIC:
