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Caught On Tape: Inside Iran's Secret Underground Missile Tunnels
On Monday, in “Iran Openly Flouts Obama, Launches New Ballistic Missile,” we highlighted the The Emad, Tehran's first precision-guided, ballistic missile with the capability and range to hit Israel. The weapon is a liquid-propelled rocket with a range of 1,056 miles, is apparently accurate to within about 1,600 feet, and can carry a 1,653-pound payload.
Iran test-fired the Emad last weekend. Here’s footage of the launch:
And here’s an excerpt from our analysis putting it in context given recent events:
One of the truly interesting things about Iran’s stepped up involvement in Syria (be it through Tehran’s various Shiite militias, the Quds, or most visibly, via Hezbollah) is that it demonstrates an outright disregard for the nuclear deal.
That’s certainly not an attempt to scold Iran. In fact, it’s never been entirely clear why Washington gets to play world nuclear police with Tehran when history has definitively proven that if there’s any country that can’t be trusted with nuclear bombs, it’s the US.
That said, the Ayatollah’s ravings leave something to be desired when it comes to diplomacy and if you’re going to threaten to wipe entire countries off the map you shouldn’t necessarily be surprised when those other countries try to prevent you from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Well the ink on the deal is barely dry and not only has Iran i) effectively invaded Syria, and ii) flouted inspectors at Parchin, they’ve now test-fired a long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile.
As Michael Elleman of the US Institute Of Peace (and yes, we're aware that there's something oxymoronic about the name of that organization) reminds us, "Iran has the largest and most diverse ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East."
Here's a rundown of their arsenal, again from USIP:
- Shahab missiles: Since the late 1980s, Iran has purchased additional short- and medium-range missiles from foreign suppliers and adapted them to its strategic needs. The Shahabs, Persian for “meteors,” were long the core of Iran’s program. They use liquid fuel, which involves a time-consuming launch. They include:
- The Shahab-1 is based on the Scud-B. (The Scud series was originally developed by the Soviet Union). It has a range of about 300 kms or 185 miles
- The Shahab-2 is based on the Scud-C. It has a range of about 500 kms, or 310 miles. In mid-2010, Iran is widely estimated to have between 200 and 300 Shahab-1 and Shahab-2 missiles capable of reaching targets in neighboring countries.
- The Shahab-3 is based on the Nodong, which is a North Korean missile. It has a range of about 900 km or 560 miles. It has a nominal payload of 1,000 kg. A modified version of the Shahab-3, renamed the Ghadr-1, began flight tests in 2004. It theoretically extends Iran’s reach to about 1,600 km or 1,000 miles, which qualifies as a medium-range missile. But it carries a smaller, 750-kg warhead.
- Although the Ghadr-1 was built with key North Korean components, Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani boasted at the time, “Today, by relying on our defense industry capabilities, we have been able to increase our deterrent capacity against the military expansion of our enemies.”
- Sajjil missiles: Sajjil means “baked clay” in Persian. These are a class of medium-range missiles that use solid fuel, which offer many strategic advantages. They are less vulnerable to preemption because the launch requires shorter preparation – minutes rather than hours. Iran is the only country to have developed missiles of this range without first having developed nuclear weapons.
- This family of missiles centers on the Sajjil-2, a domestically produced surface-to-surface missile. It has a medium-range of about 2,000 km or 1,200 miles when carrying a 750-kg warhead. It was test fired in 2008 under the name, Sajjil. The Sajjil-2, which is probably a slightly modified version, began test flights in 2009. This missile would allow Iran to “target any place that threatens Iran,” according to Brig. Gen. Abdollah Araghi, a Revolutionary Guard commander.
- The Sajjil-2, appears to have encountered technical issues and its full development has slowed. No flight tests have been conducted since 2011. IfSajjil-2 flight testing resumes, the missile’s performance and reliability could be proven within a year or two. The missile, which is unlikely to become operational before 2017, is the most likely nuclear delivery vehicle—if Iran decides to develop an atomic bomb. But it would need to build a bomb small enough to fit on the top of this missile, which would be a major challenge.
- The Sajjil program’s success indicates that Iran’s long-term missile acquisition plans are likely to focus on solid-fuel systems. They are more compact and easier to deploy on mobile launchers. They require less time to prepare for launch, making them less vulnerable to preemption by aircraft or other missile defense systems.
- Iran could attempt to use Sajjil technologies to produce a three-stage missile capable of flying 3,700 km or 2,200 miles. But it is unlikely to be developed and actually fielded before 2017.
Now that you have an idea of what Tehran's capabilities are, we present the following video which gives you an inside look at one of Tehran's secret underground missile facilities preceded by some color from Sputnik:
The state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) channel was permitted to enter the base, located 500 meters below ground, and shoot the vido, which was aired on Wednesday, The Tehran Times newspaper reported.
Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said during a visit to the site that
“Iranian missiles of varying ranges are ready to be launched from underground bases once Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei orders to do so.”
He added that Iran had built a number of missile arsenals throughout the country at depths of 500 meters.
“We are not worried if the enemies of the Islamic Revolution use the newest and most advanced generations of satellites and spying equipment,” Hajizadeh emphasized.
He further said that Iran plans to replace the current home-made missiles with new generations of long-range, advanced missiles, which run on liquid and solid fuel.
“Those who threaten Iran with their military option on the table would better take a look at Iran’s ‘options under the table,’ namely the missile arsenals. Iran’s known military power is only the tip of the iceberg."
By the way, happy "Adoption Day" (via CNN):
It's Sunday, October 18, the day the Iran nuclear deal gets rolling.
"Adoption Day" for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is formally called, means that officials from Iran, the United States and other world powers involved in the deal get started turning it into reality.
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And this is surprising because...?
Alternate headline: US Openly Flaunts God, Bombs Everybody
or, Israel Openly Taunts Germans, Holocausts Palenstinians
"That said, the Ayatollah’s ravings leave something to be desired when it comes to diplomacy and if you’re going to threaten to wipe entire countries off the map you shouldn’t necessarily be surprised when those other countries try to prevent you from obtaining a nuclear weapon."
This is some good writing. Interestingly, in tone and style, it is exactly like Ann Coulter at her best.
Might be a little off putting, though, to the target of the criticism.
It hurts your credibility when you echo hollow, transparent lies. Just sayin'.
Meanwhile, their neighbor who does not even bother with the pretense of democracy is outspending them militarily 2 to 1, crucifying the children of prominent Shiites, waging a war of aggression on the neighboring country in what is clearly ethnic cleansing of the Shia population there. But hey, it is almost an election year, so more scaremongering about Iran, please!
When will people understand that spending isn't all that's cracked up to be... I bet iranian troops are better than saudi troops cause of their iraq/syria war experience. Saudis have high tech weapons yet are getting their asses kicked in Yemen...
"It hurts your credibility when you echo hollow, transparent lies. Just sayin'."
One glance at his name should scream LANGLEY TROLL there is a permanent small army of them assigned to this website and their computer generated names makes it laugh out loud obvious.
Surprising because the next Star Wars episode will be filmed there.
fuck iran and their russian allies
Blow up entrance points and fixed.
Great idea.... let's start WW3. What could possibly go wrong?
WW III has already started.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2675355
You better hope WWIII has not started. War is far more dangerous than supposed.
There is no technology to control open, evolving, complex systems. Wars, for example, have so many unexpected twists and turns.
https://thinkpatriot.wordpress.com/2015/02/26/complex-systems-and-the-hu...
https://thinkpatriot.wordpress.com/2015/03/01/dyscordian-justice-dispens...
And intelligence agencies are no help at all, proven because none of us know the rate of intelligence agency heads' heads in baskets following unexpected changes of gov relative to other ministers. As they have never saved an empire, that would be the last remaining proof of their predictive prowess. If they had any, they would brag.
https://thinkpatriot.wordpress.com/2015/09/28/important-things-are-not-f...
https://thinkpatriot.wordpress.com/2015/10/02/warning-ideas-are-dangerous/
Meh, just observing dumb means of defence. Russia's decentralised systems make 10 times more sense.
Those ain't inaccurate SCUDS, ya know.
Why are they showing this?
They must feel very threatened now.
@blabam
What "entrance points"? Yours?
Syria and the Middle East SITREP October 18th, 2015 by John Rambohttp://thesaker.is/syria-and-the-middle-east-sitrep-october-18th-2015-by-john-rambo/
in any way... That looks like my basement.
Finally, some sober analysis from a reputable source.
Why exactly should we do this?
Reggie Love's missile, capable of ejecting massive amounts of Jizz into the mouth of Barry.
OT: Trump & Yeb are in an on going battle over Ws handling of 911. Now Trump is saying that he would have been so tough on immigration that the hijackers probably would have never been in the country. It will be hilarious if Yeb comes to W's defense by saying that immigration had nothing to do with 911, thereby admitting it was in fact an inside job.
The Jews who did 911 have an open door, then you have the little helpers who are basically called "Americans"
THANKS OBAMA !
According to the Socialist jew media.....
Bush's "Watch" = Bush's Fault
Obama's "Watch" = Yore raycessists
Yes THANK YOU !!!!! I can prey that they can make a missle that can make it to washington !!!!!
These guys build some nice tunnels. Those engineers could do a nice job renovating and rehabing the subways in the US. When are we going to learn to get along so we can have some nice transportation? Or will we just nuke everything instead?
At last Obama has done something to warrent his Nobel Peace Prize.
1) Liberal Democrat Stupidity
2) Sarcasm on the interwebz
They really are indistinguishable some times......
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law
No Sarcasm intended.. maybe just a little as I think Washington has gone full schizophrenic on this. Iran has been a relatively peaceful nation over time. The "Death to America and Israel" rehtoric does not reflect the countries real actions even though they have been extremely badly treated by the above. This attitude is amplified by the mainstream media as it is Israel's and the American MIC's interests to create these bogeymen.
That rocket looks like SCUD on roids.
FWIW>1320 feet, 402 m = quarter mile. That's about 10 football fields or so. Lets call it 11 because of claimed [1,600ft stated] accuracy. You would think they're building nukes or something, with those figures.
I won't even go into the liquid fuel part of the equation.
well, they certainly aren't civilized. where are the children writing anti israel stuff on their bombs like the israelis do? israeli children look forward to the bomb graffitti outing. those persians need to learn how to properly incite generational hate of their enemies.
Persians hate the mullahs all day long. Obama gave the mullahs 100billion more dollars and lifted sanctions on the mullahs businesses, strengthening the police state there.
They can afford to put more morality police out on the beat to harass people for showing their ankles and not covering up their meat.
Having myself been in Iran, before , during and after the Shah fell, all I can
say is you must have one enormous fat ass to talk so much shit.
Your real name isn't Pavlavi is it ?
I will take you downvotes as a yes.
That fat ass of yours will never grace the peacock throne.Tough luck.
Will anyone please kindly note that, despite the clickbaiting title, there is nothing secret about this base, the video being aired on RT, otherwise known as Russia Today, i.e, the Russian State news channel.
And Russia is Iran's ally.
Those narratives don't write or propagate by themselves you know.
That could be part of a cunningly-ill plan: Giving the bomb to Iran, then providing Saudi-Arabia with the bomb, too, then grab some popcorn and sit idly by...
Soon Tel Aviv will be turned to glass.
It will be a sight to behold.
Congrats to Iran and their technological advances and adept negotiations with John Kerry.
Stop it, I'm going misty.
Hey, the Iranian arsenal is large enough to wipe Israel out right now with conventional warheads.
Nukes would be icing on the cake....
***
A downvote? For stating fact?
I am not suggesting Iran should attack anyone,even Israel.
But the various Zionist schemes need to be neutralized.
OK wrong location but besides that Rumsfeld was right about those caves (LOL)
Bin Ladens Cave according to Rumsfeld:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGhGHxw0mSo
It is an amazing feat of engineering to dig out a space that large - and functional, to 1640 ft. depth. How long would that take...?
Of course the other message Putin sent with the Caspian sea launch,was " keep your
hands of Iran". I wonder if the batshit crazies here,and Israel, will take note.
I'd say Iran has a protectibve dome now as well, soon to be augmented with S300's.
That really was a brilliant strategic move which has fucked up the zionist/neocons on
so many levels.
If you think Russia is going to subject itself to a nuclear war to protect Iran you are mad. Putin isn't.
More to the point, will Oboxo ?
Putin has said no more, and he, unlike Obozo, seems to mean what he says.
I'm sure Iran can't wait to nuke Israel. And then, Iran can't wait to be re-nuked by Israel, USA, Britain, France and anyone else itching to push their Big Red Button.
Enough Already. Nobody is that stupid. I will say though, Iran needs to reel-in the rhetoric a bit. Either Put-up, or, Shut-up.
I was just looking at some old articles about Irans' nuclear capability, with reference to time~ frames.
The western media is either 'Weather Channel' spawn, or fully retarded.
I mean, I'm going back 5 years, and the potato heads at the Pentigram are talking about a nuclear capable Iran in 10 months.
The Langley shills are out today.
I swear I can remember being told by MSM that the Shah was ten months away from getting
the bomb. Iran desperately needs nuke power generation,alway has, but that would make
them independant, something the west cannot countenance.
I heard a montage of news reports on NPR of all places that Iran "would have the bomb any day now" from the 1980s until today. It was a report about every 6 months. It would be pretty funny if it wasn't so sad.
Can we please see a montage of ZH articles on the imminent collapse of our economy.
So what happens when you bury the entrance in a mountain of rubble.
You start WWIII and all complex life on the planet ends. Fucking dumbass.
Life will not end .... we can't even get rid of mosquitoes ?
Don't be a moron. If the global arsenal was deployed evenly you can kiss everything goodbye from blast alone.
That shows some sophisticated engineering and mining capabilities; and don't call me, Arabian...
Those rockets look quite moderate to me.
Lifts off quicker than the Space Shuttle ! (edit: Shuttle .... To move or go back and forth rapidly or frequently ?)
President Obama is a very brave man, he laughs at danger - OUR danger.
If I had my own bunker, I might, but probably not.
Mercedes trucks ?
Looks like ze germen didn't respect the economic sanctions ;-)
I am sure the US has a missle with the name of each one of those tunnels entrances on it........
If not an explosive already inside it somehow or another......
Those days are over my friend, the world changed on 9/28.
No more illegal meddling in other countries affairs, or else.
Kill off everybody .... except my Jews .... life will start all over .... I will call it: The Jew Deal ?
The Iranian theocracy makes no pretence about who it intends to target. Its missiles have long had the capability of covering the Middle East. The latest generation under feverish development has a much greater range and is intended for the country its hates most. Take no comfort in your second strike capability. Iran's apocolyptic regime is prepared to pay that price. Obama thinks he can turn them around. That and that alone is the thin line that US homeland security depends upon under the current Administration. It is persuaded that it can negotiate its way to peace with Islamic fanatics. Its not all doom however. With Israel's technical know-how and a change in US politics there's a chance that your sorry arse may be saved.
The mullahs and obama are awaitin' on the mahdi.
"With Israel's technical know-how" stolen from the U.S.
"With Israel's technical know-how" given by the U.S.
Fixed that for you.
I'm going to start a T-Shirt line.
Six Million
the shirts will simply say Six Million
mens
womens
kids
sparkles
skulls
ovens
flames
you name it.
This would be the best bitch slap EVER! lol and haha
North Korean engineers commute back and forth to Tehran monthly. They fly Pyongyang-Beijing-Bangkok-Dubai-Tehran. Always travel in medium size group of about 30 guys. You can't miss em if you get stuck on flight with them. Dressed in very trendy 1950s polyester suits, guzzling up the freebie booze and all the free Western movies they can watch. Suspect up to half of em are minders cause they certainly don't like striking up a chat. Seen em few times now so I know it's a regular thing. They didn't strike me as particularly "rocket scientist" looking types, now I see these tunnels I'm thinking the Norks are digging these tunnels for the Iranians too.
Hey Masters of the Universe NSA bot trawlers. Did you even know that shit? Open source motherfuckers. Open source.
Click bait from both sides actually. It's win/win. Surf on.
Complete the following sentence: "Iran woukd launch missiles at a nucler armed Israel because.....".
And you cannot use "Crazy Mullahs" in the sentence.
MAD
MAD
MAD
They love Allah?
Not everyone is rational when it comes to the value of life.
We got to worry about crazies everywhere.
American women do not value life too much; ask Planned Parenthood, which s/b called Planned Assault on the Innocent. They have forsook their god-given nurturing responsibilities to make a buck and abandoned the idea of family. So goes the nation.
Satan USA & its devil allies attack ONLY those countries which have no nuclear arsenal.
Lesson : If you want to keep your nation safe , get nuclear arms.
"Iran has the largest and most diverse ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East."
Lol... they may have it but it's shitty. It's like saying the Soviet Union had the world's largest tank/plane arsenal at the beginning of ww2... but it got wiped out by the Germans in 2-3 battles... cause it was all ww1 stuff.
I knew it, mole men from the lost continent of Mu (Lemuria) have taken over Iran. Those ain't beards, and whatever you do, don't open those robes!
I say good on them to have the missles and nuke...no country that cares about there children will ever launch a nuke against another country and nor are they going to sell it to the largest bidder, to do there dirty work. I think Iran getting the bomb would calm some tensions down in the Middle East.
Okay
But where are they hiding the sharks with the laser beams attached to their heads?
once the zionists are "removed" from earth...we'll have peace again... Where's God when you need him lol
CabalA$$LickerLiarHomObama : 'O my a$$, Dey haave alraidy gat it, my cabal paymasters weel roast mee alive for dis' (urinates in pants)
"Oh no, they have giant tunnel drilling machines, too!"
They could tunnel under American cities.
We'd never see it coming.