Iran's vast network of underground "missile cities" is starting to look less like a shield and more "like a blunder," the Wall Street Journal reports. Less than a week into Iran's conflict with the US and Israel, satellite images show scorched launchers and damaged tunnel entrances as allied warplanes and drones hover over known sites, waiting to strike whenever missiles are rolled out. US Central Command says Iran's missile launches have plunged 86% in four days, and the top US commander in the region, Adm. Brad Cooper, says they are "hunting Iran's last remaining ballistic missile launchers."
Analysts say Iran still likely has thousands of missiles, many entombed in bases whose locations Washington and Jerusalem have mapped over years. The flaw, they argue: once-mobile weapons are now tied to fixed, visible sites. With Iranian air defenses largely suppressed, the US and Israel are bombing surface infrastructure and entrances in repeated waves, degrading Iran's ability to fire even as it continues sporadic drone and missile attacks.
Israel's military announced attacks on underground missile facilities on Thursday in a first of the ongoing war, per Reuters. A source tells the outlet the plan is to eliminate Iran's ability to launch any aerial attacks on Israel. The strategy appears aimed at taking out Iranian missiles early, "before the supply of air-defense interceptors for knocking down incoming Iranian missiles is exhausted," per the Journal, though it notes Iran "might be holding back some of its most powerful and longest-range missiles for use as a last resort." Tehran claims it can quickly rebuild missiles, but adding launchers is harder.
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