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Iran Shows Off Underground Drone Base

Drones are seen at an underground site at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on May 28, 2022. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Drones are seen at an underground site at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on May 28, 2022. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
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Iran Shows Off Underground Drone Base

Drones are seen at an underground site at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on May 28, 2022. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Drones are seen at an underground site at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on May 28, 2022. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

The Iranian army has given some details - but not the exact location - of an underground base for its military drones, state media reported on Saturday.

State TV said 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 Iran's armed forces “are the region's most powerful," army commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi said. "Our capability to upgrade drones is unstoppable," he added.

The 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.

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Armenia Says it is Ready to Sign Peace Agreement with Azerbaijan

A general view shows the headquarters of Armenia's Foreign Ministry in Yerevan, Armenia, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo
A general view shows the headquarters of Armenia's Foreign Ministry in Yerevan, Armenia, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo
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Armenia Says it is Ready to Sign Peace Agreement with Azerbaijan

A general view shows the headquarters of Armenia's Foreign Ministry in Yerevan, Armenia, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo
A general view shows the headquarters of Armenia's Foreign Ministry in Yerevan, Armenia, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo

Armenia's Foreign ministry said on Thursday that a draft peace agreement with Azerbaijan had been finalized from its side and that it was ready to discuss a date and location to sign a final deal, Reuters reported.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought a series of wars since the late 1980s, when Nagorno-Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan that had a mostly Armenian population at the time, broke away from Baku with Yerevan's support.

In September 2023, Azerbaijan retook Karabakh by force, prompting almost all of the territory's 100,000 Armenians to flee to Armenia.

Both sides have long said they want to sign a treaty to end the long-running conflict but have wrangled over the detail of what it might look like for years.

"The peace agreement is ready for signing. The Republic of Armenia is ready to start consultations with the Republic of Azerbaijan on the date and place of signing the agreement," Armenia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.