Iran unveils new underground naval base amid tension with US and Israel

Iran unveiled an underground naval missile base at an undisclosed Gulf location on Saturday, state TV said, two days before the start of Donald Trump's second term as president.

It was unveiled at a time when tension with Washington is widely expected to rise. Iranian leaders are concerned that Trump might empower Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strike Iran's nuclear sites, while tightening U.S. sanctions on its oil industry through his "maximum pressure" policy. 

State television showed Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami visiting the secret base during war games. He said it was one of several built underground for vessels capable of launching long-range missiles and carry out distant warfare.

"We assure the great nation of Iran that their young people are capable of coming out honourable and victorious from a battle on the seas against enemies big and small," Salami said.

State television said the base was built at a depth of 500 metres (yards) somewhere in the Gulf and it showed tunnels with long rows of what it said were a new version of Taregh-class radar-evading speedboats which can launch cruise missiles.

Earlier this month, Iran started military exercises that are due to last two months and have already included war games in which the Revolutionary Guards defended nuclear installations in Natanz against mock attacks by missiles and drones.

Iran, which says its ballistic missiles are an important deterrent and retaliatory force against the U.S. and Israel, has in the past unveiled several underground "missiles cities".