What missiles does Iran have?

Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for Israel's campaign against Hezbollah, 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.

What are ballistic missiles?

A ballistic missile is a rocket-propelled weapon that is guided during its initial ascent but follows a free-fall trajectory under gravity for most of its flight.

Read more

Israel sending messages to Syria to force its divorce with Iran

It delivers warheads — containing either conventional explosives or potentially biological, chemical or nuclear munitions — over varying distances, with classifications ranging from short to intercontinental ranges depending on the missile type.

According to the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Iran is armed with the largest number of ballistic missiles in the Middle East.

Iranian missile types and ranges

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 per hour and with a range of 2,500 km, the 'Kheibar' with a range of 2,000 km, and the 'Haj Qasem,' which has a range of 1,400 km, 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; the 'Zolfaghar,' with 700 km; 'Shahab-3,' with 800-1,000 km; 'Emad-1,' a missile under development with a range up to 2,000 km and 'Sejil,' under development, with 1,500-2,500 km.

Tuesday’s attack

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.

Read more.

Netanyahu aims not only at Hezbollah, but whole ‘Axis of Resistance’

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.

While several videos circulated showing dozens of missiles making direct impacts in Israel, "more impacts doesn't mean it's more effective," said Shaan Shaikh, research associate with the Missile Defense Project at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). "Israel will not use interceptors to engage a target it sees has hitting unimportant territory, for example farmland. They will use the missile defense system as discriminately as they can, for military assets and populated areas."

As for missiles' precision, the Israeli army admitted that damage had been sustained at some of its airbases, and for Iran to fire missiles that travel over 1,500 kilometers and still get close to their targets, means "they must have decent guidance systems," Shaikh said.

However, he cautioned against applying the term "precision" across the board. "When the U.S. says it has a certain munition that is precision guided, that is a specific label," he explained. When Iran says it, it typically just means it has some sort of guidance."

Missile strategy and development

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. However, Shaikh warns that Iran may be using the term to refer to missiles that reach hypersonic speed during their terminal stage, as they fall, but that does not make them hypersonic missiles.

"So many ballistic missiles are hypersonic at terminal speed," he explained. "But actual hypersonic missiles can move and maneuver at hypersonic speed."

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

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

Read more

Iran plays with fire, putting the entire region at risk

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 neighburing 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 in support of the Palestinians, as they endure deadly Israeli military aggression. 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

Hezbollah 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.