BEHIND THE IRAN HEADLINES Series, May 15, 2024, Alireza Jafarzadeh, NCRI-US Deputy Director
MEK Continues to Expose Secrets of Tehran’s UAV Program
Over the weekend, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, the MEK, revealed evidence of a highly secret site run by the IRGC for the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Iran.
The site, located near the city of Qom, south of Tehran, is a training site for the IRGC members on all types of drones, including the Mohajer line of UAVs manufactured by the Qods Aviation Industry. Operatives of Hezbollah and other proxy groups of the clerical regime are also regularly trained in small groups to operate Mohajer-4 drones at this site.
The site is also a proving ground for Mohajer-4, Mohajer-6, and Mohajer-10 drones. Documents and aerial imagery provided by the MEK reveal how the Qom site has expanded in recent years. A document obtained from within the Armed Forces’ Real Estate and Land Organization indicates that the site was first proposed as a UAV testing ground in February 2005. In May 2006, more than 4,400 acres of land near Qom were handed over to the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.
Aerial photographs show the site’s first 500-meter runway, created in 2007, was expanded to 1000 meters in 2013 and 1,500 meters in 2020 so larger drones could also be tested.
For over four decades, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, NCRI, relying on the MEK’s network inside Iran, has exposed Tehran’s missiles and nuclear programs and other aspects of the regime’s troubling conduct.
In October 2021, for example, NCRI’s representative office in the United States held a press conference to disclose many alarming aspects of the regime’s offensive UAV program run by the Ministry of Defense and the IRGC, and in December 2021, unveiled the front companies of the IRGC used to import parts and expertise to build these drones.
The NCRI maintains an unwavering commitment to world peace and regional tranquility as the Iranian people continue their struggle for freedom. The NCRI’s continued revelations of the regime’s malign agenda are a clear testament to this commitment.
It has become evident that the regime in Tehran is the notorious ‘head of the snake’ of belligerence and terror in the Middle East. Western capitals must exercise firmness instead of accommodation and engagement in dealing with Tehran and hold it accountable for its malign activities.