We’re hearing in the media lately that Iran may strike U.S. military forces in the Middle East as a result of rising tensions. This state of affairs was supposedly initiated by the Trump administration’s refusal to exempt sanctions on oil purchases for China, India, Turkey, and South Korea before they expired on May 2. While this has been presented as a startling new development worthy of breathless reporting, Iranian missile technology has had this aggressive capability for quite some time.
A great deal of open-source information can illuminate the current state of Iranian missile capability. This allows for a concise history of its development, including a breakdown of Iran’s additional launching platforms in Syria, Yemen, and Oman. The unintended consequences of such a provocative course of action should also not be overlooked.
Beyond the ubiquitous graphics indicating various missile ranges, we can understand Iran’s current capabilities. The destructive potential of Iran’s short- and medium-range ballistic missiles in addition to its increasing capability with land-attack cruise missiles easily place it as the foremost threat in the region. Indeed, its missile program serves as a primary tool in supporting Tehran’s regional interest and is a linchpin of its defense strategy.
A full-blown technical analysis of Iran’s entire missile arsenal is beyond this article. However, we can concentrate on a specific weapons system and its effects on potential military action.
Yemen and Syria could serve as possible platforms for Iranian missile launches (see figure 1). Critically, these points of origin would place an Iranian strike well within the range of the Strait of Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb, which are economic, operational, and strategic choke points to the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.
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11.29.2024