Iran Has Unveiled A Network Of Underwater Missile Tunnels Allegedly Housing Hundreds Of Long-Range Cruise Missiles, While Warning That The Strait Of Hormuz Would Not Remain Safe If The Country Were Attacked, Amid Rising Tensions With The US.

In footage broadcast by Iranian state television, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, Alireza Tangsiri, appeared inside extensive submarine missile facilities, showing rows of rockets prepared for launch, The Caspian Post reports, citing foreign media.

Tangsiri said the IRGC Navy possessed a wide network of missile tunnels beneath the sea, developed to confront US vessels operating in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman.

He said the tunnels housed hundreds of cruise missiles with a range exceeding 1,000 kilometres (around 621 miles).

He added that the "Qader 380 L" missile, manufactured by the IRGC Navy, had a range of more than 1,000 km and was equipped with smart guidance capable of tracking targets until impact.

"Our capabilities are constantly developing," Tangsiri said, stressing that Iranian forces were prepared to confront any threat "at any level and in any geography".

Hormuz under Iranian control

The unveiling came as Iran's navy openly threatened to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which around one-fifth of global oil consumption passes each day.

Mohammad Akbarzadeh, political deputy of the IRGC naval forces, said Iran exercised "complete dominance" over the strait across air, surface and subsurface domains.

Quoted by Fars News Agency on Tuesday, Akbarzadeh said Iran receives real-time intelligence "from the sky, the surface and under the water of the Strait”, adding that its security is “dependent on decisions taken in Tehran".

The Strait of Hormuz sees more than 21 million barrels of oil pass through daily, accounting for around 37 percent of global oil traffic.

Akbarzadeh said Iran was able to track vessels sailing under different flags using modern technologies, stressing that Tehran does not seek war but remains fully prepared for one.

"If a war is imposed on us, the response will be more decisive than ever," he said, adding that Iran’s defensive readiness, particularly in air defence, was "very high".

He warned that neighbouring states were considered friendly, but would be treated as hostile if their airspace, land or territorial waters were used in an attack against Iran.

Iranian media close to the IRGC also published footage of the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other American naval assets under the headline 'An immediate message to Abraham Lincoln', recalling Tehran's detention of 10 US sailors in 2016 after they entered Iran's territorial waters and broadcasting simulated targeting of the carrier.

Akbarzadeh said responses from regional states to Tehran's warnings had been positive and that Iran possessed further capabilities that would be revealed "at the appropriate time".

Iran calls for regional security without foreign forces

Senior Iranian politicians echoed the military warnings, stressing that security in the Strait of Hormuz was inseparable from wider regional stability.

Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser and aide to Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, told Fars News Agency on Wednesday that "security and stability in the region are either for everyone or for no one".

Mokhber said Iran had played a "decisive role" in ensuring security in the Gulf, the Sea of Oman and strategic maritime routes, stressing that regional security was "an integrated whole that cannot be treated selectively or defined on an exclusionary basis".

He said Tehran had pursued a path of peace and stability but would not hesitate to defend its national interests, warning of the consequences of "adventurism" by forces from outside the region.

According to Mokhber, foreign powers face a choice between rationality and regional cooperation, or escalation and "bearing the full consequences".

He added that the region now needed the withdrawal of "adventurous foreign forces" and the opening of a new phase of collective dialogue among coastal states, aimed at establishing a comprehensive and sustainable regional security system.

Any "uncalculated step" or "irrational action" targeting Iran's interests would be met with a "strong and decisive response that will not be forgotten", he said.

He warned that the repercussions would not be limited to the attacking party but would affect the entire region and its allies, with "dangerous shockwaves" likely to severely impact the global economy.

US response

The military signalling comes as the US confirms the arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln and accompanying warships in the region, alongside the deployment of additional strike aircraft.

US President Donald Trump said this week that another American naval fleet was heading towards the region, expressing hope that Tehran would reach an agreement with Washington.

A US State Department official told The New Arab's Arabic language edition that Trump "keeps all options on the table" in dealing with Iran, saying the president had stated at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Iran "wants dialogue and we welcome negotiations", while adding that "the Iranian people want and deserve a better life".

The official declined to outline US negotiating conditions, accusing Iran's leadership of neglecting its population for decades.

"The Iranian regime has wasted the country's wealth and economic, agricultural, water and electricity resources on its terrorist proxies, ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons research," the official said.

Iran has rejected negotiations under threat, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying diplomacy pursued through military pressure "cannot be effective or useful".

He said Iran has not sought talks and has had no recent contact with Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

At the same time, Iranian officials have intensified diplomatic outreach to Arab states allied with Washington in an apparent effort to prevent escalation.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, while Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, has held talks with Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.

Egypt has also held separate calls with both Iranian and US officials, urging efforts to reduce tensions and create conditions for renewed dialogue.

The escalation comes amid a continuing crackdown on protests inside Iran. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency alleged it had verified more than 6,200 deaths, most of them protesters killed by security forces. The New Arab could not independently verify this figure.