WATCH: Iranian Revolutionary Guard reveals underground missile base
Airing of footage comes days after ballistic missile test that US says is an apparent violation of a UN Security Council resolution.
By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERSUpdated: OCTOBER 14, 2015 17:07Iran reveals underground missile base
Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday revealed an underground bunker in which it stores long-range ballistic missiles, Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency reported.Footage of the underground missile bunker was aired on Iranian state television. According to Fars, a number of ballistic missiles were shown in the underground tunnel including a model with a range of 2,000 kilometers.Fars quoted Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace branch, as saying that the missiles represented the next generation of Iranian long-range missile technology.The missile bunker shown is one of many that are buried as deep as "500 meters below the high mountains," Fars reported.Iran state television showed on Sunday what it said was a successful launch of the new Iranian missile, named Emad, which appears to be Tehran's first precision-guided weapon with the range to strike its regional enemy Israel.A total of 220 of Iran's 290 lawmakers praised the missile test on Wednesday, announcing their full support of measures that "strengthen Iran's defense capabilities."The US State Department said that the missile test was an apparent violation of a UN Security Council resolution and Washington will raise it at the United Nations."We'll obviously raise this at the UNSC as we have done in previous launches," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters, noting the test appeared to be a violation of U.N. Security resolution 1929.He and White House spokesman Josh Earnest both said the issue was separate from a deal Iran struck in July with six world powers, which seeks to curb Tehran's atomic program in return for having sanctions against it eased.Ballistic missile tests by Iran are banned under Security Council resolution 1929, which dates from 2010 and remains valid until the July 14 nuclear deal goes into effect.
Once the deal takes effect, Iran will still be "called upon" not to undertake any ballistic missiles work designed to deliver nuclear weapons for a period of up to eight years, according to a Security Council resolution adopted in July.The resolution says that when the deal is in effect countries will be allowed to transfer missile technology and heavy weapons to Iran on a case-by-case basis with council approval.However, at the time the resolution was drafted, a U.S. official called this provision meaningless and said the United States would veto any suggested transfer of missile technology to Iran.Speaking on Tuesday, White House spokesman Earnest made clear countries could more to stop the flow of ballistic missile technology to Iran."That is work that requires international cooperation," he said, adding that Washington was ready to work with Gulf allies to counter Iran's ballistic missile program.