A vast underground city of Iranian missiles, buried deep inside a mountain, serves as both a show of force to Iran’s adversaries and a contingency plan to protect its valuable arsenal from being destroyed in a massive strike. Dozens of these subterranean fortresses are spread across the country, evidence that Tehran has been preparing for a war like this for years, possibly decades.
From these mountainous bases, Iran stores mobile missile launchers, deploying them to fire and then returning them underground to reload and avoid detection. The United States and Israel aim to neutralize this threat, prompting an investigation into how such operations are carried out.
Analyzing satellite imagery of 27 underground bases, including 107 tunnels, experts found evidence of rapid U.S. deployment and an Israeli campaign targeting a large number of Iranian munitions underground, blocking entrances and exits to these sites. At least 77% of tunnel entrances that could be reviewed were reportedly struck by U.S. and Israeli forces.
Satellite images show rockets fired from mobile launchers towed out of tunnels. Some images originate from a propaganda video released last year, which was geolocated to a massive underground city with multiple access points devastated by U.S. and Israeli bombings earlier this month. Craters surround tunnel entrances, destroyed rocket launchers, and reddish clouds of highly toxic rocket fuel were visible.
Yet, less than 48 hours after the first bombings, evidence shows Iranians already excavating to access their underground munitions, continuing a pattern of rapidly repairing these facilities. After a 12-day war with Israel last June, Iran reopened access points to missile sites, including mid-range missile tunnels and uranium enrichment-linked industrial complexes, starting repairs within just 48 hours of the conflict’s end.
While the United States and Israel continue achieving tactical successes against underground installations, these gains may be temporary, as Iran adapts and rebuilds. Similar to Hamas and its tunnel networks, Tehran has channeled decades of state resources—not toward its population, but into missiles, drones, proxies, and underground facilities.
