In January 2016, Iranian state television broadcast footage from inside an IRGC underground missile base for the first time. The video showed tunnels carved deep into mountainous terrain, lined with rows of ballistic missiles on mobile launchers, ready to roll out and fire. These "missile cities" — as Iran's military leadership calls them — represent perhaps the most resilient missile force in the world.
Why Underground?
Iran learned critical lessons from the 1991 Gulf War, watching Iraq's above-ground military infrastructure systematically destroyed by US airpower. The conclusion was clear: anything visible from the air would be destroyed in the opening hours of a conflict. The only survivable infrastructure is underground.
Starting in the early 2000s, Iran launched a massive tunneling program using military engineers and construction corps. The goal: create a missile force that could survive a sustained air campaign and still launch retaliatory strikes days, weeks, or even months after the first bombs fell.
Known Facilities
While the exact number and locations of Iran's underground missile bases are classified, several have been identified through satellite imagery and Iranian state media:
- Imam Ali Base (Khorramabad region) — The facility shown on state TV in 2016. Located approximately 500 meters underground in mountainous terrain.
- Tabriz region facilities — Multiple tunnel complexes in northwestern Iran, positioning missiles for strikes toward Turkey and beyond.
- Zagros Mountain bases — The Zagros range provides ideal geology for deep tunneling, and multiple facilities are suspected along its length.
- Southeastern facilities — Bases oriented toward the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, threatening naval targets and Gulf state capitals.
Iran has claimed to have "hundreds" of such facilities. While this is likely an exaggeration, Western intelligence estimates suggest dozens of major underground missile sites across the country.
Engineering and Design
Iran's underground bases are engineered to withstand precision bombing:
- Depth: 80-500+ meters of rock overburden, depending on geology. The deepest facilities are beyond the reach of any conventional weapon, including the US GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator.
- Tunnel design: Multiple entrances and exits allow missiles to be dispersed to camouflaged launch positions. If one entrance is destroyed, others remain operational.
- Blast doors: Heavy reinforced concrete and steel doors protect tunnel entrances from near-miss explosions.
- Self-contained systems: Ventilation, power generation, communications, and crew quarters allow bases to operate independently for extended periods.
Operational Concept
In a conflict, Iran's underground missile forces would operate on a "hide-shoot-hide" cycle:
- TEL vehicles roll out of tunnel entrances to pre-surveyed launch positions
- Missiles are erected and launched within 15-30 minutes
- TELs return to tunnel protection before enemy aircraft can respond
- Reload with additional missiles stored inside the tunnels
- Repeat from different exit points to avoid pattern prediction
Can They Be Destroyed?
The US GBU-57 MOP, weighing 30,000 pounds, can penetrate approximately 60 meters of reinforced concrete or 40 meters of moderately hard rock. This is sufficient to threaten shallower facilities but falls short against Iran's deepest bases.
However, even facilities too deep to destroy directly can be functionally disabled. Collapsing tunnel entrances, destroying access roads, and cratering surrounding terrain can prevent missiles from being moved to launch positions. This is the likely US targeting approach — isolate the bases rather than destroy them outright.
Iran counters this by maintaining numerous entrances, some camouflaged, and pre-positioning missiles at dispersed launch sites outside the tunnel network. The result is a complex cat-and-mouse game that neither side can definitively win.