The Iranian army on Saturday provided some details - but not the exact location - of an underground base for its military drones, Reuters reported, citing Iranian state media.
According to the report, 100 drones were being kept in the heart of the Zagros mountains, including 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," army commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi was quoted as having said. "Our capability to upgrade drones is unstoppable," he added.
An Iranian state TV correspondent said he had made the 45-minute helicopter flight on Thursday from Kermanshah in western Iran to a secret underground drone site. He was allowed to take blindfolds off only upon arrival at the base, he said.
TV footage showed rows of drones fitted with missiles in a tunnel, which it said was several hundred meters underground.
Iran often boasts of its military accomplishments, though it is not always possible to say with certainty that it is telling the truth about those accomplishment
In 2017, the Islamic Republic claimed to have unveiled a domestically manufactured tank which “has the capability to fire missiles and precisely guide them."
Previously, Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed it had successfully tested a Hormuz 2-type ballistic missile.
Iran has also claimed it is in possession of the “father of all bombs”, described as a domestically-made 10-ton bomb with a high destructive power.
Earlier this year, the Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed that the country has drones with a range of 7,000 km (4,375 miles).
In October, the Iranian Air Defense unveiled an indigenous tactical radar it claimed is capable of calculating the velocity and distance of targets with high accuracy.