Iran's Missile Capabilities Explained

Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for Israel's campaign against Tehran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon, drawing on an array of weapons that has long worried the West.

The attack came five months after a strike in April that was the first ever direct Iranian strike on Israel.

Ballistic missiles are an important part of the arsenal at Tehran's disposal. According to the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Iran is armed with the largest number of ballistic missiles in the region.

Here are some details:

The semi-official Iranian news outlet ISNA published a graphic in April showing nine Iranian missiles it said could reach Israel. These included the 'Sejil', capable of flying at more than 17,000 km (10,500 miles) per hour and with a range of 2,500 km (1,550 miles), the 'Kheibar' with a range of 2,000 km (1,240 miles), and the 'Haj Qasem', which has a range of 1,400 km (870 miles), ISNA said.

The Arms Control Association, a Washington-based non-governmental organization, says Iran's ballistic missiles include 'Shahab-1', with an estimated range of 300 km (190 miles); the 'Zolfaghar', with 700 km (435 miles); 'Shahab-3', with 800-1,000 km (500 to 620 miles); 'Emad-1', a missile under development with a range up to 2,000 km (1,240 miles) and 'Sejil', under development, with 1,500-2,500 km (930 to 1,550 miles).

Fabian Hinz, a Berlin-based expert on Iran's missile arsenal with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that based on the locations of videos of launches posted on social media and the ranges to Israel, he assessed that Iran fired a combination of solid- and liquid-fueled missiles.

The former category of missile, which is more advanced, is fired from angled mobile launchers and the latter from vertical launchers, he said.

He said three solid-propellent missiles fired on Tuesday could be the 'Haj Qasem', 'Kheibar Shekan' and 'Fattah 1'. Liquid propellant missiles reported as being launched from Isfahan might potentially be the 'Emad', 'Badr' and 'Khorramshahr', he said.

Iran says its ballistic missiles are an important deterrent and retaliatory force against the U.S., Israel and other potential regional targets. It denies seeking nuclear weapons.    

According to a 2023 report by Behnam Ben Taleblu, a Senior Fellow at the U.S.-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Iran continues to develop underground missile depots complete with transport and firing systems, and subterranean missile production and storage centers. In June 2020, Iran fired its first ever ballistic missile from underground, it said.

"Years of reverse-engineering missiles and producing various missile classes have also taught Iran about stretching airframes and building them with lighter composite materials to increase missile range," the report said.

In June 2023, Iran presented what officials described as its first domestically made hypersonic ballistic missile, the official IRNA news agency reported. Hypersonic missiles can fly at least five times faster than the speed of sound and on a complex trajectory, which makes them difficult to intercept.

The Arms Control Association says Iran's missile programme is largely based on North Korean and Russian designs and has benefited from Chinese assistance. 

Iran also has cruise missiles such as Kh-55, an air-launched nuclear-capable weapon with a range up to 3,000 km (1,860 miles), and the advanced anti-ship missile the Khalid Farzh, with about 300 km (186 miles), capable of carrying a 1,000-kg (1.1-ton) warhead.

Regional Attacks

Iran's Revolutionary Guards used missiles in January 2024 when they said they attacked the spy headquarters of Israel in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, and said they fired at Islamic State militants in Syria. Iran also announced firing missiles at two bases of a Baluchi militant group in neighbouring Pakistan.  

Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have said they believe Iran was behind a drone and missile attack on Saudi Arabia's prized oil facilities in 2019. Tehran denied the allegation. 

In 2020, Iran launched missile attacks on U.S.-led forces in Iraq, including the al-Asad air base, in retaliation for a U.S. drone strike on an Iranian commander.

Backing For Yemen's Houthis

The United States accuses Iran of arming the Houthis of Yemen, who have been firing on Red Sea shipping and Israel itself during the Gaza war, in a campaign they say is aimed at supporting the Palestinians. Tehran denies arming the Houthis.

On Sept. 24, Reuters reported Iran had brokered secret talks between Russia and the Houthis to transfer anti-ship missiles to the armed group, citing Western and regional sources.

In 2022, the Houthis said they fired ballistic missiles and drones at the United Arab Emirates. This included a missile attack targeting a base hosting the U.S. military in the UAE, which was thwarted by U.S.-built Patriot interceptor missiles. 

Support For Hezbollah

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group has said it has the ability within Lebanon to convert thousands of rockets into precision missiles and to produce drones. Last year, the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the group was able to transform standard rockets into precision missiles with the cooperation of Iranian experts.

Syria

Iran has transferred indigenous precision-guided missiles to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad's fight against rebels, according to Israeli and Western intelligence officials.

It has moved some production capacity to underground compounds in Syria, where Assad's military and other pro-Tehran forces have learned to build their own missiles, those sources say.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)