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The Threat of Iranian Missile Development and Export
Iran’s rapidly expanding missile program is a
growing threat to regional stability in the Middle
East and is a cause of grave concern to Tehran’s
immediate and more distant neighbors. Al-Alam
, Iran ’s Arabic-language news service, recently
declared that the Islamic Republic is the region’s
missile power. [1]
On July 9, 2008, as part of a series of war games
code-named “The Great Prophet,” Iran successfully
launched the Shahab-3 missile that travels up to 930
miles (1,500 km). [2] The newer Shahab-3ER, with a
2,000-km range, puts Turkey into Iran ’s missile
range. [3] Iran could also strike numerous European
countries with its long-range ballistic BM25
land-mobile missiles; one model has a range of 1,550
miles (2,500 km) and the other can reach as far as
2,175 miles (3,500 km). [4]
In addition, Iran is also developing its own
satellite-launching capability, which could allow
for the conversion of a satellite launcher into an
intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of
almost 2,500 miles (4,000 km). [5]
Iran’s increasing military prowess indicates Tehran
’s growing ambitions in the international arena and
its desire to exert even greater influence in Middle
East affairs. In conjunction with Iran ’s continued
support of terror through non-state organizations
such as Hamas and Hezbollah , Iran is now in a
position to spread its weapons technology to many
other groups and regimes. Of particular concern is
Tehran ’s ongoing uranium enrichment program, which
has the potential of sparking a nuclear arms race in
the Middle East .
At a recent military parade in Tehran , banners adorning
six Shahab-3
missiles proudly displayed Iran ’s hatred toward
Israel and the United States , reading, “Israel must be
wiped off the map” and “We will crush America under our
feet.” [6]
|
Iran's Missile Stock:
Short-Range Missiles [7]
|
| Name |
Missile Stages |
Propulsion |
Range in miles (km) |
Inventory |
| Shahab-1 |
1
|
Liquid |
177 - 205 (285-330) |
250 - 300 |
| Shahab-2 |
1
|
Liquid |
310 - 435 (500-700) |
200 – 450 |
| Samid |
1
|
Liquid |
-- |
-- |
Shahab-3
Zelzal-3 |
1 |
Liquid, solid |
620-930 (1,000 -1,500) |
-- |
Shahab-3D
Zelzal-3D |
2 |
Liquid, solid |
930 (1,500 +) |
-- |
IRIS
Zelzal-3D |
2 |
Liquid, solid |
930 (1,500 +) |
-- |
| Shahab-4 |
3 |
Liquid, solid |
1,120-1,240 (1,800-2,000) |
-- |
| IRSL-X-2 |
3 |
Liquid, solid |
1,370-1,800 (2.200-2.900) |
-- |
Shahab-5
IRSL-X-3/Kosar
IRIS |
2,3 |
Liquid, solid |
Two stage: 2,170-2,330 (3,500-3,750)
Three stage: 2,485-2,670 (4,000-4,300)
|
-- |
Shahab-6
IRSL-X-4/Kosar |
3 |
Liquid, solid |
3,400-3,420 (5,470 -5,500)
3,500-3,850 (5,632 -6,200)
3,850-4,160 (6,200-6,700)
4,970+ (8,000+) |
-- |
Ilustration: Federation of American Scientists
GBU-67/9A Qadr (“Destiny” in Arabic)
Missile-production companies
working for the Iranian Ministry of Defense
are manufacturing the GBU-67/9A Qadr, the
first generation of precision-guided
munitions (PGMs). [8]
Iranian Minister of Defense Brig.
Gen.Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar announced in
November 2007 that Tehran is developing the
Qadr and another missile, the “Ashoura,”
both with the capacity to travel beyond
1,242 miles (2,000 kilometers). [9]
Shahab
The Shahab (“Comet” in Farsi) is an
Iranian missile based on the design of the
Soviet R11, a 1950s Scud missile. [10] Iran
originally acquired a small quantity of Scud
missiles from Libya to retaliate against Iraqi
attacks during the Iran-Iraq war. [11] Following
the war, Iran acquired the 661-lb. (300-kg) Scud
B and 1,278-lb. (580-kg) Scud C missiles from
North Korea . The missiles were dubbed the
Shahab-1 and Shahab-2, respectively. Many
Shahab-1 missiles were fired into the
encampments of the Mujahedeen el-Khalq (MEK)
opposition group in Iraq . [12]
The acquisition of the Shahab-3 missile made
Iran a threat to the Western world. The Shahab-1
and 2 had a limited range and primarily
threatened Iraq . The Shahab-3, tested in 1998,
had a range of 806 miles (1,300 km), placing Tel
Aviv under threat. The Shahab-3 and the
Pakistani “Ghauri” are similar to the North
Korean Scud missile, the No Dong. In 2004, Iran
revealed the more powerful and precise Shahab-3.
The latest version of the missile, with a range
of up to 930 miles (1,500 km), is longer with a
modified external design. [13] Between 1998 and
2006, 10 test flights of the Shahab-3 were
carried out, half of which failed. [14]
Israel and the U.S. have prepared for a Shahab-3
attack by having the crew of the American Sixth
Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea practice
intercepting missiles aimed at them. [15] On
July 9, 2008, Iran test-fired a Shahab-3 missile
with a range of 1,242 miles (2,000 kilometers).
[16]
In 2005, Iran announced that it had succeeded in
testing solid propellant motors for a “twin
engine” missile for the latest model of Shahab.
[17] According to the journal Strategic
Assessment, Iran has developed the
longer-range Shahab-4, Shahab-5 (Kosar), and
Shahab-6. [18]
Military experts consider the Shahab-4 the
Iranian counterpart to the North Korean
Taepodong-1. [19] These missiles cause heavier
damage than the Shahab-3, carrying a greater
payload and with and increased range of up to
2,480 miles (4,000 kilometers). [20] The missile
would have the capability of thrusting an
Iranian satellite up to 22 miles (35 kilometers)
into space from the launching pad near the city
of Qom . [21]
BM-25
The BM-25 Ballistic Missile is Iran ’s
newest long-range acquisition. Obtained from
North Korea , it has a range of 1,550-2,170
miles (2,500-3,500 km) using the new technology
of storable liquid propulsion. [22] According to
the German newspaper Bild, Iran
purchased 18 BM-25 missiles and launchers from
North Korea . The BM-25 is based on the Soviet
SS-N-6 (R-27) submarine-launched ballistic
missile (SLBM). [23] Iranian officials and the
Russian minister of defense denied the report.
[24]
Iranian Rocket Stock
Iran possesses a wide range of artillery rockets
systems: the Shahin, Oghab, Fajar (also fadjr,
fajr), Naze'at, and Zelzal missiles. Iran used
Oghab missiles during the February-April 1988
“War of the Cities” to shell Iraqi cities and
towns. [25]
The Haseb, an Iranian 12-tube, four-inch (107
mm) multiple rocket launcher, is a modification
of a Chinese 4-inch (107 mm) rocket, as well as
an upgrade of Chinese and Russian five-inch (122
mm) rockets. [26] The Nazeat-10, an
extended-range mode of the Nazeat-6, is blasted
from the same launcher as the Oghab. [27]
Oghab is an unguided high explosive rocket. A
nine-inch (230-mm) artillery rocket with a range
of 21 miles (34 kilometers), the Oghab launches
with three launch tubes. [28]
The Shahin I and the Shahin II are both
high-explosive rockets. [29] The Shahin II is an
unguided rocket designed to destroy enemy
troops. [30]
In 1991, Iran introduced the Fajar missile with
the aid of North Korea . [31] A drawback with
the Fajar missile is that it has limited
accuracy within a radius of less than half a
mile (1 km). [32]
Iran has tested a chemical warhead for the
Fajar-5, which included an enhanced launcher
with four 13-inch (333 mm) caliber launch tubes.
[33] The primary mission of the Fajar-5
launching system is to hit ground targets. [34]
Iranian representatives dubbed the Fateh-110 or
the A-110 as a solid fuel power guided missile.
[35] It is probably an upgraded guided model of
the Zelzal-2 with a range of between 99 to 124
miles (160 to 200 km). [36] Several military
experts claim that the Fateh-110 is not a
missile because it lacks an effective guidance
system. [37]
|
Iranian
Artillery Rockets [38]
|
|
|
| Rocket |
Range in miles(km) |
Warhead weight in pounds (kg) |
|
|
| Haseb |
5.5 (9 km) |
18 (8 kg) |
|
|
| Noor |
11 (18 km) |
40 (18 kg) |
|
|
| Arash |
12.5 (20 km) |
40 (18 kg) |
|
|
| Arash |
12.5 (20 km) |
18 (8 kg) |
|
|
| Oghab |
21-28 (34 - 45 km) |
154 (70 kg) |
|
|
| Fajr-3 / Ra'ad |
28 (45 km) |
99 (45 kg) |
|
|
| Shahin-1 |
8 (13 km) |
418 (190 kg) |
|
|
| Shahin-2 |
20 (12 km) |
190 (86 kg) |
|
|
| Fajr-5 |
75 (47 km) |
90 (41 kg) |
|
|
| Naze'at-4 |
90 (56 km) |
-- |
|
|
| Naze'at-5 |
-- |
-- |
|
|
| Naze'at-6 |
105 (65 km) |
85 (39 kg) |
|
|
| Naze'at-10 |
140 (87 km) |
250 (113 kg) |
|
|
| Mushak-120 |
130 (81 km) |
500 (227 kg) |
|
|
| Zelzal-2 |
100-200 (62 - 124 km) |
-- |
|
|
Cruise Missiles
In 2005, Ukraine ’s prosecutor-general
announced that arms dealers had smuggled
several KH55 Soviet-era cruise missiles into
Iran between 1991 - 2001. [39] The missiles
have a range of 2,100 miles (3,500 km). [40]
Terrorist Groups Aided by Iran
Iran remains the world’s most active state
supporter of terrorism, providing funding,
weapons and training to Hezbollah and
Palestinian groups such as Hamas and
Palestinian Islamic Jihad; the latter two
have mounted violent opposition against the
Palestinian Authority president’s Fatah
group. [41]
Hamas
In light of the proposed peace talks between
Syria and Israel , an Iranian official
announced that Iran would continue to fund
Hamas even if peace were reached. A ranking
military officer promised the government
that “very advanced” missiles were under
development especially for Hamas. [42]
Hezbollah
Iran provided the terrorist group Hezbollah
thousands of rockets that Hezbollah used in
its war against Israel in 2006. Hezbollah
currently has 30,000 rockets, according to
the United Nations. [43]
Hezbollah possesses Zelzal-1 rockets, with a
78-mile (125-km) range, and Zelzal-2
rockets, with a 130-mile (210-km) range,
which are capable of hitting the Israeli
cities of Tel Aviv, along the Mediterranean
Sea , and Be’er Sheba in the south. These
long-range missiles were smuggled into
Lebanon two to three years prior to Israel
’s defensive war against Hezbollah (also
known as the Second Lebanon War) and stored
in the Beirut area. [44]
They were probably not used during the war.
Hezbollah used the Iranian-produced Falaq to
attack equipped targets. The Falaq-1 rocket
has a range of up to 5.5 miles (nine km)
while the Falaq-2 has a maximum distance of
seven miles (11 km). [45]
The Iranian-constructed rockets Fajar-3 and
Fajar-5, with ranges of up to 43 miles (70
km), were also supplied to Hezbollah
militants. Iranian engineers designed rooms
in the homes of Hezbollah activists to
install rocket launchers and to store
weapons. [46] Fajar rockets became the main
threat to the northern region of Israel
during the 2006 war.
The Iranian-made Naze’at rockets have a
range of up to 86 miles (140 km). They were
not used during Hezbollah’s 2006 war against
Israel .
Iran supplied Hezbollah with Chinese-made
C-802 land-to-sea cruise missiles. The C-802
was used to hit an Israeli naval ship off
the coast of Beirut on July 14, 2006. [47]
Future of Iran ’s Missiles
U.S. pressure on China has prevented Iran
from acquiring the M-9 and M-11
single-stage, solid-fuel, road-mobile
missiles. Iran is also relying on China to
continue the development of the 1,100-pound
(500 kg) Tondar-68 with a range of 620 miles
and the Iran-700 with a range of 434 miles
(700 km) of the same weight. [48] Jane’s
Defence Weekly reports that China may
be aiding Iran in improving the range of
HY-1 (HaiYing-1) [49] and HY-2 (HaiYing-2)
[50] land-to-ship missiles, [51] which could
put the Persian Gulf at risk.
________________________________________
Footnotes:
[1] “Iran test-fires long range missile,”
Islamic Republic News Agency, July 9, 2008,
http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-17/0807093136122440.htm
[2] “IRGC commander: Armed forces in full
combat readiness,” Islamic Republic News
Agency, July 10, 2008,
http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-22/0807104917193005.htm
[3] Rubin, Uzi, “The Global Range of Iran’s
Ballistic Missile Program,” Jerusalem Center
for Public Affairs, June 20, 2006, Vol. 5,
No. 26, retrieved on Sept. 12, 2008 from
http://jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=254&PID=0&IID=494
[4] Ibid.
[5] “Report: Iran almost ready to launch spy
satellite into space,” Haaretz, Jan. 26,
2007,
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/818236.html
[6] “Iranian Artillery Rockets,”
GlobalSecurity.org, Retrieved on July 7,
2008 from
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/mrl-iran.htm
[7] “Iran Missiles” Federation of American
Scientists. Retrieved July 13, 2008 from
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/iran/missile/
[8] “Weapons of Mass Destruction,”
GlobalSecurity.org, Retrieved on July 7,
2008 from
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iran/missile-overview.htm
[9] “Defense Minister: Iran developing
2,000-km-range missile,” Islamic Republic
News Agency, Nov. 27, 2007,
http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-17/0711272813150829.htm
[10] Rubin, Uzi, “The Global Reach of Iran’s
Ballistic Missiles,” Tel Aviv University
Press, Ramat Aviv, 2006, pg. 17
[11] Ibid.
[12] Shapir, Yitzhak S., “Iran’s Strategic
Missiles,” Strategic Assessment, Volume 9,
No. 1, April 2006,
[13] Ibid.
[14] Rubin, Uzi, “The Global Reach of Iran’s
Ballistic Missiles,” Tel Aviv University
Press, Ramat Aviv, 2006, pg. 22
[15] Oren, Amir, “ U.S. admiral: Iran strike
on Israel ‘likely’,” Haaretz, Retrieved on
July 7, 2008 from
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998839.html
[16] Iran test new long-range missile,” BBC
News, July 9, 2008,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7496765.stm
[17] Shapir, Yitzhak S., “Iran’s Strategic
Missiles,” Strategic Assessment, Volume 9,
No. 1, April 2006,
http://www.tau.ac.il/jcss/sa/v9n1p8Shapir.html
[18] Ibid.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Rubin, Uzi, “The Global Reach of Iran’s
Ballistic Missiles,” Tel Aviv University
Press, Ramat Aviv, 2006, pg. 30
[23] “Ya-zahra Project Low-altitude
Surface-to-Air Missile System (Iran),
Self-propelled surface-to-air missiles,”
Jane's Land-Based Air Defense, May 27, 2008.
Retrieved on July 7, 2008 from
http://www.janes.com/extracts/extract/jlad/jlad0588.html
[24] Ibid.
[25] Iranian Artillery Rockets,”
GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved on July 7,
2008 from
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/mrl-iran.htm
[26] Iranian Artillery Rockets,”
GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved on July 7,
2008 from
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/mrl-iran.htm
[27] Ibid.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Ibid.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Ibid.
[32] Ibid.
[33] Ibid.
[34] Ibid.
[35] Shapir, Yitzhak S., “Iran’s Strategic
Missiles,” Strategic Assessment, Volume 9,
No. 1, April 2006,
http://www.tau.ac.il/jcss/sa/v9n1p8Shapir.html
[36] Ibid.
[37] Ibid.
[38] Shapir, Yitzhak S., “Iran’s Strategic
Missiles,” Strategic Assessment, Volume 9,
No. 1, April 2006,
http://www.tau.ac.il/jcss/sa/v9n1p8Shapir.html
[39] “Cruise Missile row rocks Ukraine,” BBC
News, March 18, 2005,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4361505.stm
[40] “Iran’s race for Regional Supremacy,”
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 2008
[41] “Iran: Proxy Groups,”
Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved July 13, 2008
from
http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/world/iran/proxy-groups.htm
[42] “Iran Pledges to Continue Support of
Hamas,” Asharq Al-Awsat, May 26, 2008,
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=12877
[43] Associated Press, “UN report: Israel
says Hezbollah's arsenal includes 30,000
rockets,” International Herald Tribune,
March 4, 2008,
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/04/news/UN-GEN-UN-Lebanon-Israel.php
[44] Harel, Amos, and Issacharoff, Avi, 34
Days: Israel, Hezbollah, and the War in
Lebanon. London: MacMillan Press, London,
2008, p. 49
[45] Hezbollah as a strategic arm of Iran,"
Intelligence and Terrorism Information
Center at the Center for Special Studies,
Sept. 8, 2006,
http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/iran_hezbollah_e1b.htm
[46] Hersh, Seymour M, “Watching Lebanon:
Washington’s interests in Israel’s war,” New
Yorker, Aug. 21, 2006,
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/08/21/060821fa_fact
[47] Ibid.
[48] “Iranian Artillery Rockets,”
GlobalSecurity.org, Retrieved on July 7,
2008 from
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iran/missile-overview.htm
[49] “HY-1 Anti-Ship Missile,”
sinodefence.com, April 23, 2006. Retrieved
Sept. 8, 2008 from
http://www.sinodefence.com/navy/navalmissile/hy1.asp
[50] “HY-2 Anti-Ship Missile,”
sinodefence.com, April 23, 2006. Retrieved
Sept. 8, 2008 from
http://www.sinodefence.com/navy/navalmissile/hy2.asp
[51] "Iranian Artillery Rockets,”
GlobalSecurity.org, Retrieved on July 7,
2008 from
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iran/missile-overview.htm
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