Newly released Iranian military footage shows ballistic missiles erupting straight out of the desert floor, blasting through camouflaged hatches from underground silos before streaking into the sky. The launches, carried out by the Revolutionary Guard during large‑scale drills in central and southern Iran, mark the latest showcase of Tehran’s expanding “missile city” network buried beneath the sand.

Drone images capture rockets punching upward from a dusty plateau with no visible launchers – a design meant to hide firing positions until the split second of ignition and make pre‑emptive strikes far harder. Iran first tested underground launches publicly in 2020; commanders now boast that upgraded silos can fire repeated salvos in quick succession.

State media claims the missiles on display can reach US bases, Israel and key Gulf shipping lanes, and hint they could be paired with a “missile shower” system – rail‑mounted magazines that send multiple medium‑range missiles surging from a single buried complex to overwhelm air defences by sheer volume.

For millions watching online, the spectacle is both awe‑inspiring and chilling: plumes of fire ripping through the sand, shockwaves rolling across an empty desert that suddenly doesn’t look empty at all. Western and Gulf intelligence services are racing to map every tunnel and launch shaft, warning that each new hidden silo tightens the hair‑trigger balance between deterrence and a catastrophic missile war in the Middle East.