Iran Unveils Underground Missile Silos
Iran unveiled underground silos on Monday that would make its missiles less vulnerable to attack, the country’s latest show of force in the long standoff with the West over its nuclear program.
State television broadcast images Monday of an unspecified number of silos deep underground, claiming they held medium- and long-range missiles ready to hit distant targets. Subterranean silos are considered harder to destroy than surface installations, and Iran hailed them as a defensive asset meant to thwart an attacker.
Col. Asghar Qelichkhani said the silos “function as a swift-reaction unit.” State TV quoted him as saying the missiles were permanently in the vertical position and “ready to hit the predetermined targets.”
The silos were presented as Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards began 10 days of military exercises.
Western powers have long cited evidence that Iran was investigating the design of nuclear warheads for its missiles, a charge Tehran denies. It insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Western news organizations have reported sketchy evidence of the existence of Iranian missile silos near Tabriz and Khorramabad in northwest Iran. The presentation on Monday seemed to confirm the veracity of the scattered reports, if not the exact locations of the silos.
Such missiles could be a real threat. The US has earth-penetrator bombs able to take out a harden silo, but I do not know if Israel does.