Iran threatens underground missile complexes along its shores

The Islamic Republic of Iran remains entrenched in the constant threat and task of destabilizing the Middle East region. In this vein, it has announced the deployment of underground structures equipped with missiles along its own coastline in order to give a clear warning to its rivals about the country's arms strength. 

Ali Reza Tangsiri, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy (the elite corps of the Persian Army), was charged with issuing a serious warning to his opponents on the international stage following statements made to the media Sobh-e Sadegh and the Tasnim news agency. In the words of the head of the Persian Navy, the Iranian nation has an extensive network of missile complexes along the entire coast. According to the commander himself, these infrastructures are located everywhere in the Persian Gulf and in the Gulf of Oman and are a wake-up call for the nation's political enemies. 

Ali Reza Tangsiri, commander of the Navy since August 2018 when he replaced Ali Fadavi, stressed that these military buildings can be a real "nightmare" for his rivals (read, above all, the United States or Saudi Arabia, for example). "The enemy knows that the Army and the Revolutionary Guard have underground missile cities along the Persian Gulf and the Makran coast (the Iranian coast in the Oman Sea), but this information is not accurate," the military command said. In that context, the commander himself declared that "all the coasts are armed" with underground military cities that "are scattered" along the southern coast of the country. "We are present everywhere in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman and in places you cannot even imagine. We are your nightmare," he said. He also said the Navy controls the passage of all ships entering the Strait of Hormuz. "We have long-range missiles and our enemies must wait to hear more news about long-range missiles and ships they cannot even imagine," he said. 

The threat went so far that Ali Reza Tangsiri went so far as to say that in case the U.S. Armed Forces make a mistake in the Middle East, they will be pursued to the Gulf of Mexico as well.

The escalation of regional tension grows with the confrontational stance of Iran, a country that is being targeted and is being singled out for jeopardizing regional and global security with its attitude. The festering of positions with the regime of the ayatollahs intensified mainly after the exit of the United States from the nuclear pact signed in 2015 with the Persian country and other powers such as France, Russia, United Kingdom, China and Germany (JCPOA) which limited Iranian nuclear development, especially in the field of weapons. Donald Trump's US Executive left the agreement in 2018 after denouncing Iran's non-compliance and imposed political and economic sanctions on it; among which those related to oil, the main source of financing for the Iranian state, stood out. 

The Persian nation was not intimidated and, through the mouth of its President Hassan Rohaní, threatened to largely fail to comply with its commitments regarding its atomic program (particularly those related to uranium enrichment and heavy water treatment) and to blockade the Strait of Ormuz (the main passage area for world oil trade).

In the context of this rarefied atmosphere, there were incidents involving cargo ships in Gulf waters and attacks on oil and airport infrastructure in Saudi Arabia (a major regional rival of Iran and the main representative of the Sunni branch of Islam as opposed to the Shiite one sponsored by the Iranian nation); aggressions for which the regime of the ayatollahs and agents at its service were held responsible; such is the case of the Houthis, Shiite militias that fight in the war in Yemen to undermine the internationally recognized government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi and that face an Arab coalition led by the Saudi kingdom. 

The embargo was a major blow to Iranian coffers, which are also currently suffering from the economic slowdown caused by the current COVID-19 health crisis. An exceptional situation that even led the European Union to act by providing assistance to the Iranian country through the INSTEX mechanism, which served to provide medical supplies while evading US sanctions thanks to the carrying out of transactions without the use of dollars. 

The financial meltdown led Iran to approach other partners for some economic respite, and that led to rapprochement with Qatar and Turkey, two countries that are also in question. The Gulf monarchy also suffers from an embargo since 2017 decreed by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain, which accuse it of supporting cross-border terrorism; meanwhile, the Eurasian nation presided over by Recep Tayyip Erdogan got involved in the civil wars in Libya and Syria to obtain geostrategic and economic benefits (gas and oil exploration) in the Mediterranean. 

Iran is also singled out for permanent interference in the internal affairs of other countries. Much has already been reported about interference in the state activity of neighbouring nations through the action of like-minded Shiite groups that cooperate with the Persian state. In this strategy, the participation of the Quds Forces (international division of the Revolutionary Guard) operating together with these Shiite forces in favour of Iranian interests is vital. 

These Shiite groups are known and are located in key countries. As it is the case of Lebanon, with the militias of Hezbollah; Yemen, with the Houthi rebels; Syria, with the Afghan guerrillas of Liwa Fatemiyoun; Iraq, with the Popular Mobilization Forces; or Palestine, with the militias of Hamas.