Iran's state TV said 100 drones were being kept in the heart of the Zagros Mountains,
including the Ababil-5, which it said were fitted with Qaem-9 missiles,
an Iranian-made version of air-to-surface US Hellfire.
“No doubt the drones of Islamic Republic of Iran's armed forces are the region's
most powerful,” Maj Gen Mousavi said. “Our capability to upgrade drones is unstoppable.”
The state TV correspondent said he was taken blindfolded to the drone base
in a 45-minute helicopter flight from Kermanshah in western Iran.
Iran has longed claimed to have underground missile
bases across the country and along its coast.
The report of its drone base comes amid heightened tension in the Gulf
region following Iran's taking of two Greek-flagged tankers on Friday.
Iran said its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp Navy seized the tankers for “violations
in Gulf waters”. The action followed its threat earlier in the day to take “punitive
action” following a US confiscation of an Iranian oil tanker in Greek waters.
Iran is said to be supplying drones to its regional proxies including Lebanese militant
group Hezbollah, the Houthi rebels in Yemen and paramilitaries in Iraq.
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz last November revealed the existence of
Iranian drone bases that he said were being used to launch attacks at sea.
One is near the port of Chabahar in Iran's Sistan and Balochistan province
and the other on Qeshm Island, just off the coast of the Iranian mainland, he said.
Mr Gantz had said earlier that Iran also had a drone base in Kashan,
north of the city of Isfahan, that was used to train Iranian proxies.
General Baqeri made the remarks during a visit
to a secret underground drone base of the Army on Saturday.
He hailed the drone capabilities of the Iranian Army.
General Baqeri underlined the significance of drones in defending the country's interests,
and said that they have found a special place in different defensive,
offensive, land, sea, air and air defense areas.
Noting that deterrence is not possible with old methods and equipment and requires new methods,
he said that “the drones that we saw today can play such a role”.
General Baqeri also underscored that Iran will never underestimate any threat.
The Iranian Army on Saturday unveiled a new cruise missile with a range of 200km fired from drones.
The new achievements were unveiled during a visit by General Baqeri
to an Army-owned secret drone base on Saturday.
During his visit, the 'Heidar-1' cruise missile and 'Heidar-2'
cruise drone were unveiled by the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
'Heidar-1' cruise missile has a range of 200 kilometers
and its speed at the moment of hitting the target is 1,000 km/h.
It is the first cruise missile capable of being firing by a drone.
Iran has made great progress in developing different drones and
missiles and has been able to export them to other countries.
Earlier this month, General Baqeri and Tajik Defense Minister General Sherali Mirzo inaugurated
a plant in Tajikistan to manufacture Iran-made Ababil 2 drones in the Central Asian country.
The Ababil 2 UAV production plant was inaugurated in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe.
In order to strengthen and develop joint defense and
military cooperation between the two countries,
the plant was inaugurated in the presence of a group of Iranian and Tajik officials.
Addressing the ceremony, General Baqeri said that the Islamic Republic of Iran,
with the efforts of its committed specialists and scientists and by using its internal capacities,
has been able to make a significant growth in all military and defense dimensions,
specially production of drones.
"Today we are in a position that we can export military equipment
to allied and friendly countries in addition to meeting domestic needs
in order to increase security and lasting peace," he said.
“The unveiling of the drone comes at a time of mounting tensions with the United States,
which have escalated since last year when U.S. president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew
from a 2015 nuclear deal signed between Iran and world powers,” Al Jazeera pointed out.
“Washington has since reimposed sanctions to strangle the Iranian economy as part of a
pressure campaign to force Tehran to negotiate a new agreement. Iranian leaders say they are
open for dialogue if the sanctions are lifted and the U.S. returns to the nuclear deal.”
On July 18, 2019, U.S. troops aboard an amphibious
assault ship forced down an Iranian drone over the Strait of Hormuz.
The downing comes just a few weeks after Iranian forces downed an American drone in the same area.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the unmanned aerial vehicle threatened USS Boxer.
Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told The New York Times
that Boxer was in international waters at the time of the incident.
The drone “closed within a threatening range” before Boxer took action.