Iran’s “Missile Cities”: Underground Ambition Meets Reality
Iran has built an extensive network of underground “missile cities” fortified tunnels, shafts, and bases carved into mountains, deserts, and valleys. Designed to shield its ballistic missile arsenal from attack, these facilities aim to project power across the region, from Israel to the Persian Gulf.
The sites, spread nationwide, support missile storage, preparation, and launches. Key complexes are located in areas such as Lorestan, Kermanshah, Tabriz, and islands like Qeshm, with some buried hundreds of meters deep in natural rock.
While intended to provide survivability and deterrence, recent regional wars have revealed weaknesses. Advanced surveillance and precision strikes by the US and Israel have targeted launchers emerging from tunnel entrances, destroying missiles and damaging access points.
What was meant to be a hidden strength has often become a predictable vulnerability. Iran International’s new special report and atlas detail both the scale of this engineering effort and the operational limits exposed in combat.
Tehran’s underground strategy remains central to its defense posture, but ongoing conflicts are forcing adaptations.
