Iran scrambles to replace bases as strikes target missile launchers

Analysts say the reduction in missile attacks reflects both the destruction of launchers and the growing danger faced by Iranian missile units as allied aircraft hunt them across the country.

By Mardo Soghom, Middle East Forum

Reports from Tehran suggest the regime has evacuated several large municipal buildings to accommodate security and military units, indicating that authorities may be scrambling to replace facilities damaged in ongoing strikes.

The regime, for example, cleared the headquarters of Tehran’s District 12 and District 18 municipalities of staff to make room for security forces, and the Iranian government may extend similar measures to other major municipal facilities and mosques.

A security unit may even occupy the building of the Hamshahri newspaper, a mass circulation, colorful daily that is roughly (and without moral equivalence) Iran’s equivalent of USA Today.

Additional reports indicate that after losing several bases across the capital, security forces have begun setting up tents throughout the city to house personnel and equipment.

Authorities had been using the 12,000-seat indoor arena at Azadi Stadium as a temporary base. Israel targeted the facility.

Witnesses saw several ambulances heading toward the site, suggesting the possibility of significant casualties, although details remain unclear.

Separately, a video released by Iranian state media appears to show armed personnel in military uniforms leaving and fleeing from Baasat Stadium in Tehran after it was struck on March 5, 2026.

Despite the ongoing strikes, some accounts suggest that basic infrastructure in the city continues to function.

According to Ida Turan, an Iranian woman living abroad who says she spoke with family members in Tehran, electricity, gas, water, and telephone services remain largely operational, although authorities have cut internet access.

She said residents reported hearing explosions louder than those during the previous twelve-day conflict but remained relatively calm, describing many of the strikes as precise and often directed at military-related sites such as mosques or Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij facilities in residential areas.

According to her account, residents sometimes receive phone warnings before strikes in nearby areas.

These claims could not be independently verified, and the situation in Tehran remains fluid. With internet access restricted and official information controlled, the full picture of events inside the capital is difficult to establish.

Another factor shaping developments in the capital is the campaign by Israeli and U.S. forces to destroy Iran’s ballistic-missile launchers.

Since the start of hostilities on February 28, 2026, allied aircraft have targeted launch sites, mobile launchers, and related infrastructure across the country.

The impact appears visible in the steadily declining size of Iran’s missile barrages.

On the first day of the conflict, Tehran launched hundreds of missiles, but the number has dropped each day and is now fewer than fifty launches daily.

Analysts say the reduction reflects both the destruction of launchers and the growing danger faced by Iranian missile units as allied aircraft hunt them across the country.

The reported relocation of security and military units into municipal buildings and other civilian sites in Tehran may reflect an effort to protect remaining assets and command structures from further strikes.

An Iranian source abroad claimed that Brigadier General Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of parliament and a former Revolutionary Guards commander, is now in charge of the war effort.

Qalibaf was a close associate of slain Qods Force commander Qasem Soleimani. The same source reports significant chaos in the chain of command among Iran’s military forces.

Many missile and drone launch sites have reportedly lost contact with central command and are operating on “autopilot,” or what is known in Iran as Atash be Ekhtiar, free to fire.

Meanwhile, the visible picture of what remains of Iran’s post-Ali Khamenei political leadership is murky and difficult to decipher.

Claims that Mojtaba Khamenei has been chosen as the new supreme leader are unverified, as official sources and political figures remain largely silent about the succession process.

It is also unclear whether Mojtaba survived the initial bombardment that killed his father. Khamenei’s funeral, which in Shiite tradition should take place quickly, is delayed due to the ongoing war.