Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched underground ballistic missiles on Wednesday as part of a drill targeting a replica of US aircraft carriers in the Strait of Hormuz, indicating a demonstration of power to the US, with whom they are already in disagreement.
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“We have carried out the ballistic missile launch from the depths of the earth for the first time,” Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Guard’s aerospace division, told state television. “That means that without using conventional launching pads, the buried missiles suddenly start from the ground and hit their targets with precision.”
The Revolutionary Guard speedboat fires a missile during a military exercise. Iranian commandos also quickly descended from a helicopter into a replica of an aircraft carrier in the exercise called “Great Prophet 14”. (Sepahnews via AP)
Drone footage captured by the Guard showed two missiles taking off from covered positions in the desert early Wednesday morning, with debris flying through the air as it passed. The Guard did not identify the location of the launch, nor the missiles involved, but appeared to be near the desert plateau of central Iran.
The missiles are fired in a Revolutionary Guard military exercise. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard fired a missile from a helicopter at the simulated aircraft carrier in the Hormuz strategic strait. (Sepahnews via AP)
Iran has developed and stored some of its ballistic missiles underground to protect them from being destroyed or seized by enemy countries.
The test comes amid ongoing tension between Washington and Tehran, especially after the US drone attack that killed Iranian chief general Qassem Soleimani in January.
The simulation photos, titled “Great Prophet 14,” published by the Tasnim news agency, depicted the American carrier in the form of a coffin with a set of crosshairs, with a legend quoting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowing to exact revenge for the attack
Revolutionary Guard speedboats revolve around a replica of an American aircraft carrier during a military exercise. (Sepahnews via AP)
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Ballistic missile fire detected in the drill a day earlier raised the alert of US troops at Al-Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Al-Udeid Air Base, the headquarters of the Army Central Command. of the US In Qatar, the military said. The troops briefly sought refuge during that time.
Both bases are hundreds of miles from where Iran placed the replica aircraft carrier in the Strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 percent of all traded oil passes.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
