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Iran has now restored access to 50 out of 69 tunnel entrances struck by the US and Israel at 18 underground missile facilities, a report revealed.
An underground missile site in Iran. (Reuters/File Image)
Amid soaring tensions between the United States and Iran, Tehran has reportedly restored access to most of its underground missile sites damaged by the US and Israeli strikes on February 28, giving it an advantage to fire more long-range missiles at adversaries.
Relentless US-Israeli strikes had restricted access to Iran’s underground missile sites by destroying roads and burying tunnel entrances. However, satellite images reviewed by CNN showed Iran has used simple equipment such as bulldozers and dump trucks to counter the bombing campaigns, exposing the limits of the US strategy.
As per the report, Iran has now restored access to 50 out of 69 tunnel entrances struck by the US and Israel at 18 underground missile facilities. Furthermore, Iran has also repaired other parts of the bases, including roads that the US and Israel bombed to prevent missile launchers from using them.
Experts said Tehran’s missile capabilities can’t be destroyed just by targeting tunnel entrances. If hostilities between the two countries resume, Iran is in a position to “continue launching missiles so long as they have launchers and crews, even if production has halted,” said Sam Lair, a research associate at the James Martin Centre for Nonproliferation Studies.
“There’s nothing to prevent the launchers from being armed with the ample stockpile of missiles that the Iranians still have,” he added, warning that the US is in danger of a strategic failure to halt Iran’s missile force.
Iran’s efforts to reopen the entrances had accelerated significantly during the ceasefire announced in April. US President Donald Trump has reportedly pointed to Iran’s arsenal of missiles as a reason for the war, with its destruction being one of the key goals.
US-Iran Tensions Soar After ‘Self-Defence’ Strikes
Meanwhile, tensions between the US and Iran escalated after the United States carried out strikes on Iranian radar installations and drone command-and-control facilities over the weekend.
In a statement posted on X, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the operation targeted sites in Goruk and on Qeshm Island in Iran. The strikes were conducted in self-defence following the downing of a US MQ-1 drone, it claimed.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that it had targeted a military base allegedly used by the United States to launch attacks on Iranian territory.
The development came as reports emerged that Trump had sent a tougher peace proposal back to Iran, and underlined the rift that the parties still need to close. Any tweaks to the draft could further delay an agreement to formally end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz after weeks of fraught negotiations marked by sharp rhetoric and occasional flare-ups of violence.
Trump has said his priorities include stopping Iran from developing any nuclear weapon and reopening the Hormuz shipping lane, which Iran has blockaded since the war began. In a Truth Social post on Monday, he insisted that Iran really wanted to make a deal with the US and that it would be a good one for Washington and its allies.
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