TEHRAN,
Iran (AP) — Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched
underground ballistic missiles Wednesday as part of an exercise
involving a mock-up American aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz,
highlighting its network of subterranean missile sites.
Although
state television documentaries have focused on operations at
underground bases, all have avoided showing geographic details revealing
their locations. Wednesday’s launch from what appears to be central
Iran’s desert plateau may have changed that amid heightened tensions
between Tehran and the U.S. over its tattered nuclear deal with world
powers and as economic pressures grow.
“We
have carried out the launch of ballistic missiles from the depths of
the earth for the first time,” Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the
Guard’s aerospace division, told state TV. “That means without
utilizing conventional launchpads, the buried missiles suddenly rip out
of the earth and hit their targets precisely.”
Drone
footage captured by the Guard showed two missiles blasting out from
covered positions in the desert early Wednesday morning, with debris
flying up into the air in their wake. The Guard did not identify the
location of the launch, nor the missiles involved.
The launch, six months after the Guard shot down a Ukrainian jetliner and killed all 176 people on board,
appeared geared toward demonstrating the strength of its missile
program to a domestic audience, missile expert Melissa Hanham said. The
above-ground footage shown on state television, coupled with
investigative techniques, make it possible to locate the site, she said.
“Once
you find the silo, it’s really not a safe place to keep your missile
anymore,” said Hanham, who works as the deputy director of an
Austria-based group called the Open Nuclear Network.
Since
its bloody 1980s war with Iraq, which saw both nations fire missiles on
cities, Iran has developed its ballistic missile program as a
deterrent, especially as a U.N. arms embargo prevents it from buying
high-tech weapons systems. The underground tunnels help protect those
weapons, including liquid-fueled missiles that can only be fueled for
short periods of time, Hanham said.
“What
they’re trying to do is increase the survivability of their missile
forces,” she said. “They feel that their missile forces are exposed and
that they could be taken out preemptively. By building this elaborate
tunnel scheme, they’re trying to increase the survivability.”