‘Nightmare for enemies’: Iran’s missile launching “cities”

Tehran has built multiple “missile cities,” both ashore and offshore, along its southern coast, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) navy chief has revealed, calling the facilities a “nightmare” for the country’s enemies.

The network includes underground bunkers, as well as offshore floating platforms, Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri told Sobh-e Sadeq weekly, in an interview published on Sunday.

Iran’s “missile launching cities”

“We have missile-launching floating cities which we will display whenever our leaders see fit,” Rear Admiral Tangsiri told the Sobh-e Sadegh weekly.

The “enemy” knows about Iran’s “missile cities” but the information it has on them is false, said Tangsiri.

The region will be deprived of peace as long as US forces are present in it, he claimed.

Read more: US threatens Iran with UN sanctions if arms embargo ends

“Wherever the Americans are, we are there too,” Tangsiri said, adding: “I said this years ago, if the Americans make one mistake, we will chase them to the Gulf of Mexico.”

“We will strangle the Americans in places they will not imagine,” he said.

Tangsiri said Iranian forces are present “everywhere” in the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.

“We are in places you will not even think of. We are your nightmare,” he said.

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“Iran has established underground onshore and offshore missile cities all along the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, which would be a nightmare for Iran’s enemies,” Tangsiri stated.

Iran missile launching cities announcement comes after fire at nuclear site

The announcement comes after an official said that a fire at the underground Natanz nuclear site had caused significant damage that could slow down the development of advanced centrifuges used to enrich uranium.

Iran’s top security body said on Friday that the cause of the fire that broke out on Thursday had been determined, but would only be announced later.

Security officials called it an accident.

Read more: US must apologise and refund Iran for violating Iran nuclear deal: Rouhani demands 

“There were no victims … but the damage is significant on a financial level,” Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said.

“In the medium term, this accident could slow down the development and production” of advanced centrifuges.

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Natanz is one of Iran’s main uranium enrichment plants.

“God willing, and with constant effort … we will compensate for this slowdown so that the rebuilt site will have even more capacity than before,” Mr Kamalvandi said.

Defenses present ‘everywhere’ on coast of Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman

Iran previously said that such sites exist in all its provinces, but had unveiled only three bases, none of them built along the coast.

The IRGC is now present “everywhere” in these waters – its navy has mobilized 23,000 service personnel and 428 flotillas along the southern borders, the admiral added. Tangsiri also hinted at forthcoming long-range missiles, as well as brand-new military vessels “beyond the imagination” of the country’s enemies.

Read more: Iran Revolutionary Guards unveil ‘new ballistic missile’

Iran’s elite Guards Corps certainly has a thing for subterranean facilities, and repeatedly intimated that it has well-hidden missile stockpiles and launch sites, and even fully fledged underground factories. So far, no visual evidence of the IRGC navy-operated compounds has been made available.

The Persian Gulf has seen an increase in foreign military since last summer, following a series of maritime incidents, including mysterious attacks on oil tankers. The likes of the US and the UK were quick to blame Iran for these incidents, but Tehran denied the allegations, pointing to the lack of evidence. Washington, in particular, deployed additional forces to the area to ensure “safe” navigation.

Read more: Iran confirms recent missile test amid Western criticism

Iran, for its part, has always maintained that it’s capable of single-handedly providing all the necessary security in the region, and urged foreign nations to stay away from the troubled waters.

Does Iran’s announcement serve as a deterrent to its restless foes or just a general show of its power to the world, with increasing unilateral sanctions brought on by the Trump government after resigning from the Iran nuclear deal.

GVS News Desk with additional input from RT and other sources