Iran is building what it calls its first “defensive” tunnel within the capital’s metro network, state media reported without elaborating on what the defense measures are.
“For the first time in the country, a tunnel with defensive functionalities is being built in Tehran,” Jafar Tashakori, who heads the city council transport commission, was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
“This tunnel follows the path between ‘The Defenders of Health’ and ‘Imam Khomeini Hospital’ metro stations, and provides the possibility of direct tunnel access to this medical centre,” he added.
Tashakori did not give more details on the tunnel’s defensive capabilities.
However, the word “defence” can mean several things in Farsi, with doctors and nurses called “health defenders” and police “security defenders.”
Tuesday’s announcement comes against the backdrop of heightened tensions between Iran and its sworn enemy Israel, which launched air strikes on military targets in the Islamic Republic on October 26.
This came in response to Tehran’s October 1 attack on Israel, which was itself retaliation for the killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards general.
Iranian officials said the October 26 attack killed four soldiers and resulted in “limited damage” to radar systems.
Media reports said that a civilian was also killed.
Iran has vowed to retaliate for last month’s attack, despite warnings from the United States and Israel not to do so.