Iran State media releases clips of massive underground army base housing 100 attack drones

Iranian state television on Saturday released unseen footage of a huge underground military base holding over 100 attack drones. The bunker is built under concrete tunnels in a secret location in Zagros hills, Mehr News reported. The officials used buggies to access the massive base underneath the mountains in the western part of the country. 

According to the Iranian state TV reports, the storage facility located about 40 minutes from Kermanshah city houses over 100 reconnaissance and attack drones, including Ababil-5. The said drone could find the Qaem-9 missile, a local version of the US' surface-to-air Hellfire missile. "No doubt the drones of Islamic Republic of Iran's armed forces are the region's most powerful. Our capability to upgrade drones is unstoppable," said Iranian army commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, as quoted by Daily Mail. Footage accessed by the Associated Press showed Major General Mousavi and Iran Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri walking down the tunnel built in an undisclosed location.

Just to note, Iran started developing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the 1980s, i.e. during its 8-year war against Iraq. The US has often accused Tehran of dispatching drone fleets to the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. On Saturday, Gen. Bagheri described the site as a "safe operational base for strategic drones," as quoted by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency.

The news report comes amid ramping tensions over the assassination of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps followed by UAV strikes on the Iranian military complex. The attack on Iran's Parchin military base was carried out by Quadcopter suicide drones, the New York Times reported. This came after unidentified gunmen killed Iranian Colonel Hassan Sayyad Khodaei as a warning to Tehran against covert operations. Both incidents have been attributed to Israel, although, Tel Aviv has refused to comment on the same. Meanwhile, Tehran has also seized two Greek vessels in the Gulf in a retaliatory move against the US.

Iran seizes Greek vessels in the Persian Gulf

Tehran on Saturday contributed to the ongoing escalation as the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guards seized two Greek oil tanks in the Persian Gulf. According to AP reports, the retaliatory move came against Athens' help to the US to stop an Iranian oil tanker on alleged violations of sanctions in the Mediterranean Sea. Greek condemned the "violent taking over of Greek-flagged ships," adding that "such acts effectively amount to acts of piracy." The Greece Foreign Ministry informed that armed Iranian troops have detained the crew of the seized ships. Athens also warned Tehran of "negative consequences" and danger to relations with the European Union if it did not immediately release the vessels.

(Image: AP)