Iran’s Missile Forces Are Increasing in Range, Accuracy and Lethality

At first glance it looks like the set of a James Bond movie – a seemingly impregnable mountain base packed full of uniformed men and sinister-looking missiles on their launch vehicles parked along a long tunnel buried deep underground.

The footage was revealed just a day after the Iranian parliament formally approved the landmark nuclear deal, which was signed by Tehran with world powers in July 2015. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Aerospace Division, was quoted as saying.

In the unprecedented footage, the line-up of missiles and launchers were shown also to satisfy hardline Islamist lawmakers, who have expressed serious concerns over the nuclear deal, stating that it has “weakened Iran”.

The underground missile bases limit the ability of spy satellites to pinpoint the location of Iranian arms caches.

The underground facility shown on television was only one of “numerous missile bases” scattered across the country, according to Hajizadeh.

The commander added that his country will replace the current home-made missiles with new generations of long-range, advanced missiles, which run on liquid and solid fuel.

At the State Department, a spokesman said the U.S. would pursue punitive action against Iran within the parameters of the existing UN Security Council resolution, but not new sanctions.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday that there were “strong indications” that Iran’s ballistic missile test Sunday violated a United Nations Security Council resolution.

The ban on Iranian ballistic missile tests will be lifted when the deal is finally implemented, but a Security Council resolution tied to the deal calls upon Iran to avoid doing work on ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear warheads for a period up to eight years.

The White House insisted the launch would have no impact on the recent nuclear deal. Such a view also inferred that Iran’s missile force was oriented toward deterrence, with the missiles being Iran’s best tool for projecting coercive power from its borders….