Tehran claims success in latest missile barrage against Israel amid rising tensions

Iranian state media celebrated its Saturday morning attacks on Israel, framing them as a response to Israeli “aggression.”

Iran carried out several waves of ballistic missile and drone attacks on Israel on Friday evening and into the morning of Saturday in response to an Israeli strike in the early hours of June 13.

Tehran has dubbed its latest barrage "Operation True Promise III," following previous attacks in October and April 2024. In the April assault, Iran launched approximately 500 munitions, most of them ballistic missiles and drones. The October attack primarily involved hundreds of ballistic missiles.

Despite having suffered losses over the past two days, Iran claimed to have successfully struck its intended targets. According to Iranian sources, 78 Iranians were killed in the Israeli strikes.

Tehran has since dispatched its envoy to the United Nations in an effort to rally international condemnation against Israel. Iran also announced the appointment of new commanders to replace those killed. It further claimed that Israel was being "pummeled" by the retaliatory strikes.

Likely pre-programmed for flight and not dependent on a communications link, they are difficult to jam. However, due to their slow speed, they can be intercepted by conventional air defenses and are potentially vulnerable to laser-based systems.

What kind of missiles does Iran have in its arsenals?

It remains unclear which missile types Iran used in the most recent attack. However, missile and drone expert Fabian Hinz noted in a post on X that one of the targets of Israel’s June 13 strikes in Iran appeared to be a Haj Qasem missile launcher. In a photo he analyzed showing missile debris, Hinz suggested it may have been from a Fattah or Kheybarshekan solid-propellant medium-range ballistic missile. Iran had previously used the Kheibar Shekan missile in a January 2024 strike on Syria, showcasing the system’s capabilities. First unveiled in February 2022, the Kheibar Shekan uses solid fuel.

During the April 2024 attack, Iran is believed to have deployed several missile types, including the Emad, Ghadr-110, Kheibar Shekan, and possibly a variant of the Shahab missile. According to Iran’s Press TV, the October 2024 assault featured multiple systems as well. These included the Ghadr missile family, first introduced in 2005 and described as an improved variant of the Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missile.

The Ghadr is a two-stage rocket with a liquid-fuel first stage and a solid-fuel second stage. It comes in three types: the Ghadr-S with a range of 1,350 km, Ghadr-H with 1,650 km, and Ghadr-F with 1,950 km. The missile measures between 15.86 to 16.58 meters in length, with a diameter of 1.25 meters, and weighs between 15 and 17.5 tons.

Press TV also reported that the Emad missile—a liquid-fueled system described as an improved version of the Ghadr—was among those used. It additionally claimed that Iran may have employed the Fattah-1 “hypersonic” missile.

In a January 2024 article for the BESA Center, Israeli missile expert Uzi Rubin described the Ghadr as a more advanced but imprecise version of the Shahab-3, which is itself based on a North Korean design. He referred to the Emad as a “precision version” of the Ghadr.

Rubin also highlighted that, unlike the Shahab and Ghadr, the Kheibar Shekan—whose name translates to “Destroyer of the Jews”—is not derived from North Korean technology but is instead a product of Iran’s domestic military industry.

It is an enlarged version of the Fateh-110 precision-guided missile, which itself evolved from the Zelzal unguided rocket used in the 2006 Lebanon War. Iran has improved the guidance systems of the Fateh-110 and has used these missiles in attacks on Kurdish dissidents in Iraq.

Iran also possesses long-range cruise missiles, such as the Quds family. It used Fateh-313 and Qiam ballistic missiles in its January 2020 attack on the Al-Asad airbase in Iraq, which targeted US forces.