Iran’s "Missile Cities": The Subterranean Fortress Where the Regime is Hiding | WATCH
IRGC Aerospace Force commander Brigadier General Seyyed Majid Mousavi has been seen inspecting underground missile bases as internal criticism of his leadership grows.
Brigadier General Seyyed Majid Mousavi, the commander of the IRGC’s Aerospace Division, has made a rare appearance at one of Iran’s newly unveiled underground missile bases. The visit, documented by state media, was intended to showcase the "operational readiness" of the regime’s strategic units amid the ongoing war. Mousavi used the opportunity to announce a shift in the regime’s military doctrine from "defensive to offensive," promising that Iran is ready to carry out "lightning-fast and large-scale operations" using asymmetric warfare. However, the visit also comes at a time when Mousavi is facing unprecedented internal criticism from senior IRGC officials for his perceived absence from the battlefield during the most intense phases of the war.
Command from the Shadows
Despite the defiant rhetoric, Mousavi’s retreat to an underground facility is seen by many as a sign of the regime’s vulnerability. Sources within the IRGC have reportedly complained that Mousavi has not maintained an effective presence on the ground, leaving his forces without leadership as casualties mount. Aerospace Force operators have described their missions as "near-suicidal," with many missile launch crews being targeted by Israeli and U.S. airpower moments after they surface. The complaints have even reached the level of families of IRGC personnel, who have filed grievances regarding the lack of support provided to those on the front lines.
The underground base itself is part of a network of "missile cities" built deep into the Iranian mountains to protect the regime’s most valuable assets from aerial bombardment. Mousavi claimed that these facilities have strengthened Iran’s "deterrence power" and that the regime is prepared for any action from its enemies. However, military analysts note that a leadership that must operate from deep underground is a leadership that has lost control of the skies and the surface. While Mousavi promises a "regional fire" that will burn the United States and its associates, the reality on the ground is a force that is increasingly fractured, under-led, and struggling to survive the precision of the coalition’s air campaign.