IRGC Unveils New Underground Missile City in Show of Power
By Mahmoud Mahmoudian
‘We are fully prepared to confront any threat in the
region and beyond,’ IRGC aerospace chief warns
November 10, 2026
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/532026/IRGC-Unveils-New-Underground-Missile-City-in-Show-of-Power
TEHRAN – On Tuesday, the IRGC Aerospace Force unveiled
a new underground missile city, displaying an array of ballistic and cruise
missiles and their launch systems.
The unveiling came as Iran highlights the expansion of
its domestic missile-production capabilities and the resilience of its military
infrastructure in the face of repeated U.S. threats to resume military
aggression against the Islamic Republic.
The unveiling ceremony was attended by military chief
Ali Abdollahi and IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Majid Mousavi.
The facility showcases a range of missile systems and
launch platforms, underscoring the Aerospace Force’s emphasis on developing,
storing and deploying strategic weapons through an increasingly extensive
underground infrastructure.
The unveiling comes as Iran marks IRGC Aerospace Force
Week and follows an announcement by IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Hossein
Mohebbi that the force would introduce a new underground missile city alongside
several other military achievements.
Mohebbi said the Aerospace Force had accelerated the
transfer of its missile and drone production lines from surface facilities to
underground locations, moving beyond conventional underground storage complexes
to establish “underground missile production cities.”
He emphasized that Iran’s domestic technological
expertise, extensive geographical territory, and flexible industrial
infrastructure would enable the country to sustain weapons production even
under intensive aerial bombardment.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, General Mousavi
declared Iran's readiness to confront any threat, warning that any aggression
would end in defeat.
Mousavi said the capabilities inherited from the
distinguished commanders had become a robust and reliable instrument of
defense.
"Today, we are fully prepared to confront any
threat in the region and beyond, with capabilities that are both credible and
reliable," he stated.
“If necessary, we will bring all of their (enemies’)
capabilities across the region and beyond under fire, leaving the enemy with
nothing but defeat and rout,” Mousavi declared.
Major General Abdollahi also said the Islamic Republic
will destroy the Zionist regime, emphasizing that the US and Israel have
already failed to achieve their objectives despite deploying their full
military capabilities against Iran.
He said available figures indicate that the United
States has never deployed such a large quantity of advanced munitions and
military equipment in any war over a comparable period. However, he stressed
that Washington's failure in its war of aggression against Iran was determined
not by the scale of its weaponry or military hardware, but by the resolve and
determination of Iranian fighters.
General Abdollahi went on to say that the Armed Forces
were duty-bound to stand firm against the enemy, emphasizing that neither the
enemy's numerical superiority nor its military capabilities would dictate
Iran's decisions.
He identified the spirit of resistance as the decisive
factor behind Iran's successes, declaring: "We neither accept the enemy's
calculations nor allow them to influence our determination."
Abdollahi also dismissed the statement by Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that either Israel must destroy Iran or Iran
would destroy Israel as nothing new.
"It is clear that we will ultimately destroy
them," the senior military commander asserted.
He stressed that the Israeli regime and the United
States had emerged as the definitive losers on the battlefield.
Abdollahi also warned about future confrontation,
saying: "Surprises in the next war will emerge one after another."
Domestic missile production and technological
independence
Brigadier General Ali Balali, an adviser to the
commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, also emphasized the extent of Iran’s
self-sufficiency in missile manufacturing, describing the industry as “more
indigenous than the making of Persian carpets.”
In an interview marking Aerospace Force Day, Balali
traced the development of Iran’s missile industry, highlighting the pioneering
role of the late Major General Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, widely regarded in
Iran as the founder of the country’s modern missile program.
He said Iran had moved beyond dependence on foreign
suppliers and now possessed the expertise and industrial capacity to design and
manufacture the various missile systems required by its armed forces.
According to Balali, even the raw materials used in
the production of solid- and liquid-propellant fuels are sourced and processed
domestically. Iran’s mineral resources and petroleum derivatives have provided
an important foundation for achieving independence in this strategically
significant sector, he added.
Balali rejected suggestions that Iran’s missile
reserves had been exhausted following the second and third wars, arguing that
the country's missile industry had reached a level of maturity that allowed
production to continue on the basis of domestic resources and infrastructure.
He said Iranian specialists were also developing
weapons specifically tailored to operational requirements, rather than merely
reproducing existing systems.
As an example, he cited the Hormuz missile designed to
engage radar installations by homing in on the electromagnetic emissions they
produce.
The system's radar-seeking capability, he said,
reflects the progress Iranian specialists have made in developing weapons
adapted to the requirements of modern battlefield operations.
Western assessments acknowledge the scale of Iran’s
missile capabilities
Iran's missile program has attracted considerable
attention from Western military and security analysts, some of whom have
acknowledged the scale, diversity and strategic significance of the country's
missile capabilities.
Fabian Hinz, a missile and military technology analyst
who has worked with the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS),
wrote in a June 2025 analysis that Iran possessed a substantial missile force,
including shorter-range systems that could be deployed in its immediate
neighborhood.
Although Hinz identified vulnerabilities in Iran’s
missile stockpiles and production capacity following the June 2025 Israeli
attack, his assessment nevertheless underscored the central role of missile
capabilities in Iran’s military strategy, particularly given the country's
limited conventional air power.
In a separate assessment published in June 2026, Chuck
Freilich, a senior researcher at the Middle East Institute and a former Israeli
deputy national security adviser, acknowledged that despite substantial damage
to Iran's missile inventory and industrial infrastructure during the US-Israeli
war, the country retained significant residual capabilities, along with the
expertise, infrastructure and motivation needed to rebuild.
Freilich also pointed to Iran's geographically
dispersed industrial base, underground missile facilities and mobile launch
systems as important elements of the country's capacity to preserve and
reconstitute its missile force.
His assessment underscores a central feature of Iran's
missile strategy: its military capabilities cannot be measured solely by the
number of missiles currently in storage but must also be considered in terms of
the industrial infrastructure, technical expertise and production capacity that
sustain the program.
Missile capabilities as a pillar of deterrence
Meanwhile, IRGC Ground Force Commander Brigadier
General Mohammad Karami praised the Aerospace Force's contribution to Iran's
national security, describing its missile and drone capabilities as important
elements of the country's deterrence strategy.
In a message marking Aerospace Force Week, Karami said
the force's performance during the US-Israeli wars of aggression and in the
period that followed had disrupted the adversaries' calculations and frustrated
their military ambitions.
He attributed Iran's advances to the efforts of
domestic scientists, military commanders and young specialists who had
transformed scientific knowledge into practical technologies and turned
security challenges into opportunities for technological development.
Karami also highlighted the importance of indigenous
expertise, advanced research, and the design and production of sophisticated
missile and drone systems in strengthening Iran's defensive and air-defense
capabilities.
He paid tribute to those who had lost their lives in
the defense of the country, particularly the martyred Leader of the Islamic
Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and stressed the importance of faith
and adherence to the directives of the current Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba
Hosseini Khamenei.
The latest unveiling and the statements by IRGC
commanders come amid continued emphasis by Iran on strengthening its military
deterrence through domestic technological development, underground
infrastructure, and the ability to maintain production under wartime
conditions.
