Iran’s Missiles: Infographics and Photos

February 17, 2021

Defense Intelligence Agency estimates of missile ranges (2019)

Iran has the largest and most diverse missile arsenal in the Middle East. It has hundreds of cruise and ballistic missiles with ranges from 200 km to 3,000 km (123 miles to 1,864 miles) and varying degrees of accuracy. Iran’s missile program, which dates back to the monarchy and briefly included collaboration with Israel, has been an increasingly important military staple since the 1979 revolution, as the Islamic Republic’s warplanes became obsolete. Since the late 1980s, Iran has developed an increasingly sophisticated arsenal that is critical to its offensive capabilities, as well as its strategy of defensive deterrence.

Related Material:

Iran's Missile Inventory

Map of Iranian Missile Attacks 2017-2020

During the 1980-1988 war with Iraq, President Saddam Hussein launched missiles deep into Iran during the so-called “war of the cities.” Iran countered with Scud B missiles.
Between 1994 and 2001, Iran fired Shahab-1, its own variant of the Scud B, at bases in Iraq used by the Mujahedin-e Khalq, an opposition group linked to underground operations across the border.
Between June 2017 and early 2020, Iran demonstrated new missile capabilities. In 2017 and 2018, it fired a dozen short-range ballistic missiles on ISIS targets in eastern Syria; some traveled more than 370 miles, crossing over Iraq. In 2018, it launched seven short-range ballistic missiles at Kurdish separatists based in northern Iraq. In 2019, Iran allegedly fired seven cruise missiles a Saudi Arabian oil facility. And in 2020, Iran fired more than a dozen short-range ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops

Map of Iran’s Missile Transfers to Proxies

Missile Transfers Since the early 2000s, Iran has supplied cruise and ballistic missiles to its proxies in at least three countries—Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. Tehran’s transfer of missiles—which range from 120 km to 1,200 km, or 77 miles to 745 miles—allows its proxies to hit targets at further range and with greater precision than either artillery or unguided rockets.

Lebanon: Iran has transferred the largest number of missiles—estimated to total 14,000, with ranges of 125 km to 300 km, or 77 miles to 185 miles—to Hezbollah, the largest militia and a political powerbroker in Lebanon. In the early 2000s, Hezbollah was the first recipient of Iranian missiles. Since 2016, Iran has reportedly provided conversion kits to upgrade Hezbollah’s arsenal from short-range rockets to precision-guided missiles capable of hitting deep into Israel. Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets into Israel, but it had not yet unleashed ballistic missiles across the border as of February 2021.
Yemen: Since 2016, Tehran has reportedly transferred medium-range missiles—with ranges up to 1,200 km—to Houthi rebels fighting a civil war and a military campaign led by Saudi Arabia. Iran has also smuggled short-range ballistic missiles—with ranges of 250 km and 1,000 km, or 150 miles to 620 miles—to the rebels, who are Zaydi Shiites. In response to Saudi airstrikes, the Houthis have launched dozens of these missiles against major Saudi cities.
Iraq: Since 2018, Iran has reportedly supplied short-range ballistic missiles – with ranges up to 700 km – to Shiite militias in Iraq, including Kataib Hezbollah and Saraya al Jihad. The missiles could hit U.S. forces based in Iraq and even reach Israel, if launched from the western desert. But ballistic missiles had not been used against either domestic or regional rivals as of February 2021.