Iran Unveils Underground Missile City as War Rhetoric Escalates
Tehran displayed new weapons while Washington and Tehran traded insults over the economic toll of the conflict.
By Marina Weber ·
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard revealed an underground facility it described as a missile city on Tuesday. The force displayed new surface-to-surface missiles during the event, marking a visible shift in Tehran’s public military posture.
State television broadcast a heavily edited video of the visit. General Ali Abdollahi, the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, toured the site. The footage was partially blurred and did not specify the exact date of the visit or the geographic location of the complex.
The unveiling coincided with escalating verbal exchanges between senior officials in Washington and Tehran. Mohsen Rezaei, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, posted on X that the war had already wrecked the United States. He argued that the U.S. should surrender to Iran’s terms, which include lifting sanctions and the blockade on Iranian ports.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded from Paris by dismissing Iran’s demands as absurd. He stated that no major military action is required at this time because Iran is bleeding economically. Rubio characterized the Iranian leadership as guiding the country toward third-world status.
In the Gaza Strip, five people died from Israeli strikes and gunfire on Tuesday. Hospital authorities reported four deaths in three separate strikes in Gaza City. Shifa Hospital confirmed those casualties. In Khan Younis, Nasser Hospital reported that one person was shot dead after crossing the Yellow Line.
The Israeli military said it struck combatants in Gaza City. It did not immediately comment on the shooting in Khan Younis. These deaths occurred despite a ceasefire agreement that took effect in October 2025.
In Yemen, overnight airstrikes killed at least one person and wounded nine others. A strike hit a gas station in Sanaa, killing one person and injuring three. A second strike targeted an oil company, wounding at least six people. The Houthi-run health ministry blamed Saudi Arabia for both attacks.
A spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition said a drone was intercepted in eastern Saudi Arabia. The Associated Press could not independently verify the claims from either side regarding the Yemeni strikes.
Maritime tensions flared in the Strait of Hormuz. The Revolutionary Guard claimed three vessels struck naval mines and caught fire while using an unauthorized route. It said one vessel was a supertanker and another was crossing under U.S. military protection. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Lima, Oman. The crew of that vessel were safe.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company stated that one of its vessels was attacked in UAE territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The company did not identify the ship or the attacker. It was not immediately clear if these incidents were linked. Meanwhile, Iran denied involvement in a cyberattack that raised refrigerator temperatures in hundreds of French supermarkets last month, calling French accusations baseless.
