Iran’s Revolutionary Guard opened the doors of a secret underground missile base to state TV, showing off medium- and long-range missiles.
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The footage of the Iranian missile base shows long tunnels packed with missiles, hardware, and numerous Iranian soldiers.
Iran state television showed on Sunday what it said was a successful launch of the new Iranian missile, named Emad, which appears to be Tehran’s first precision-guided weapon with the range to strike its regional enemy Israel. This resolution is in effect until the nuclear deal struck between the USA and Iran in July kicks into gear.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said that when it comes to Iran’s ballistic missile program, “unfortunately, that’s not new”.
The base is located 1,640 feet (500 meters) below ground, according to BBC World journalist Mehrzad Kohanrouz.
The commander said the missiles were ready to be launched from all over Iran, on the order of “the supreme commander-in-chief”, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The missile bunker shown is one of many that are buried as deep as “500 meters below the high mountains”, Fars reported.
“If the facts are as we believe them to be, it would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions”, Samantha Power said, speaking at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women summit in Washington.
Obama administration representatives said that they are in the process of addressing concerns over the test, but emphasized to reporters that the matter is distinct from the deal over Iran’s nuclear program that the Islamic republic reached with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the USA, UK, Russia, China, and France – plus Germany.
The underground missile bases limit the ability of spy satellites to pinpoint the location of Iranian arms caches.
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However the White House insisted the launch would have no impact on the nuclear agreement which is due to be formally implemented by the end of this year.
