Iran unveiled a new underground missile depot on Tuesday, with state television showing Emad precision-guided missiles which the United States says can carry nuclear warheads and violate a 2010 U.N. Security Council resolution. The defiant move to publicize Iran's missile program seemed certain to irk the United States as it plans to dismantle nearly all sanctions on Iran under the nuclear deal reached last July. The United States says the Emad, which Iran tested in October, would be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, and U.S. officials say Washington will respond to the Emad tests with fresh sanctions against Iranian individuals and businesses linked to the program. Iran's boasting about its missile capabilities are a challenge for U.S. President Barack Obama's administration as the United States and European Union plan to dismantle nearly all international sanctions against Iran under the nuclear deal. Iran has abided by the main terms of the nuclear deal, which require it to give up material that world powers feared could be used to make an atomic weapon and accept other restrictions on its nuclear program. But Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered his defense minister last week to expand the missile program. The Iranian missiles under development boast much improved accuracy over the current generation, which experts say is likely to improve their effectiveness with conventional warheads. The Revolutionary Guards' second-in-command, Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami, said last Friday that Iran's depots and underground facilities are so full that they do not know how to store their new missiles.
Credit: Reuters
The Tasnim news agency and state television video said the underground facility, situated in mountains and run by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, was inaugurated by the Iranian parliament's speaker, Ali Larijani. Release of the one-minute video followed footage of another underground missile depot last October.
Iran unveils new underground missile site
Iranian state television shows Emad precision-guided missiles, which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, at an underground site run by the Revolutionary Guard • U.S. says it will respond to Emad tests with fresh sanctions.
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