Tensions ratcheted up in the Middle East yet again thanks to Iran's weapon development program.

Iran unveiled footage yesterday of what it said were Emad ballistic missiles at a new underground missile facility. The one minute footage showed senior Iranian officials inspecting a long line of mobile, nuclear-capable missiles.

First tested in October , the Emad ("Pillar") is designed to evade missile defenses. It's also supposed to be much more accurate than previous Iranian missiles. Emad is an improvement of the Shahab-3 missile , which is based on a North Korean design.

The video shows a line of Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) trucks equipped with missiles in an underground facility. North Korea, which has a great deal of tunneling and underground building experience, is suspected of having transferred tunneling technology to Iran in the 1990s.

The TELs appear to be based on imported commercial semi trucks and bear a strong resemblance to Mercedes Benz trucks. The grill of each missile truck appears modified differently, possibly to break up the profile and prevent identification. The erector and launcher appear to be locally made.

At least six missiles are visible in the video but only three have canards—small fins—on the nose cones typical of the Emad. The canards are used for maneuvering during the terminal phase, as the warhead descends at high speed toward its target. The other missiles appear to be Shahab-3s.

It is not known how many Emad missiles Iran has, but Reuters quotes the second-in-command of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as saying the country's underground facilities are so full "that they do not know how to store their new missiles." Given that the video shows only three Emad missiles, that appears unlikely.

The U.S. views the development of the Emad as a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1929 , adopted in June 2010, that prohibits Iran from pursuing ballistic missile development and production. According to Reuters, Washington will likely hit Iran with fresh economic sanctions as a result.

Watch the Iranian State TV video here:

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