NEW DELHI ,6 March 2026 : Iran spent years constructing underground bunkers to shield its vast missile arsenal from destruction.
US and Israeli planes and drones have been circling over dozens of cavernous bases in Iran, attacking missile-carrying launchers when they emerge to fire. The Iranian weapons have apparently been trapped below ground in some places after waves of heavy bombers dropped munitions on the underground bunkers, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Satellite imagery taken in recent days shows the remains of several Iranian missiles and launchers destroyed in Israeli and US airstrikes near the entrances of subterranean sites or “missile cities,” the American daily reported.
The sites include a cluster of bases near the southern city of Shiraz, which appear to have been struck multiple times, as well as bases near Isfahan, Tabriz and Kermanshah.
Almost all of the dozens of missile bases attacked during the conflict are underground but have aboveground buildings, entrances and roads that make it possible to identify the sites from satellite photos, as per analysts.
In March 2025, the country released video footage of what it claimed was its largest underground facility. The location was not revealed. The clip showed senior commanders touring long, windowless corridors containing missile-carrying trucks.
Crude underground silos have been built at some bases for firing missiles without having to bring them out in the open. A base near the town of Khormuj in southern Iran is believed to have nine underground silos with such capabilities, Colin David, a former US Army missile specialist and a researcher with Alma, told WSJ.
These silos are little more than deep holes dug into the side of a mountain that point toward the Persian Gulf, with a paved entrance to the underground facility.
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