What’s in the Iranian military arsenal?

Located in West Asia, the Islamic Republic of Iran is the second biggest country in the Middle East. Iran has the largest inventory of ballistic missiles in the Middle East and is developing indigenous weapon systems such as long-range missiles.

Iran’s geography and boundaries

Region	West Asia
Borders	East: Afghanistan and Pakistan, West: Turkey and Iraq, North: Caspian Sea, South: Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf, North-west: Armenia and Azerbaijan, North-east: Turkmenistan
Maritime Boundaries	UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain

What weapons does Iran military have?

Land Forces Assets

Iran has a range of armoured vehicles and artillery to call upon to serve combat needs. Listed below are the assets owned by Iranian Army.

Category	Models
Main Battle Tanks	Zulfiqar, T-72S, T-62, T-55, T-59, M47/48, M60A1, Karrar (in production)
Self-Propelled Howitzers	M109
Towed Artillery	GHN-45
Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)	Fajr-5
Amphibious Infantry Fighting Vehicles	BMP-2
Armoured Personnel Carriers	BTR-60, Boraq

Iran’s combat aircraft

Aircraft Name	Type	Procured from
F-14A/AM Tomcat	Fighter	US
Shenyang J-6 / F-6 Farmer	Fighter	China
Su-22 Fitter	Fighter-bomber	Iraq
Su-24MK Fencer	Fighter-bomber	Russia and Iraq
F-4D/E Phantom II	Multi-role fighter	US
Mirage F1	Multi-role fighter	Iraq
F-7N Airguard	Multi-role fighter	China
MiG-29 Fulcrum A	Multi-role fighter	Russia and Iraq
F-5E/F Tiger II	Multi-role fighter	US

Support aircraft/Helicopters

Aircraft	Role
EMB-312 Tucano	Trainer and light attack
Su-25	Close air support
IL-76	Transport
An-74	Transport
Dassault Falcon 20	Transport and utility
Boeing CH-47 Chinook	Transport
Bell 214	Search and rescue/transport
Bell 212	Transport
Toofan	Attack helicopter
Mi-8/Mi-17	Transport

UAV platforms owned by Iran military

Iran also operates several armed and unarmed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for ISR and strike missions, as below.

Platform	Role	Endurance	Payload capacity	Altitude	Range	Known combat use
Ababil-2	Multi-role	Up to two hours	40kg	3,000m	100km	2006 Lebanon War
Ababil-3	Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR)	Four hours	–	5,000m	100km	Iraqi civil war, Syrian civil war
Qasef-1	Multi-role		30-45kg		Up to 150km
Mohajer-2	ISR	1.5 hours	15kg	3,350m	50km
Mohajer-4	ISR	7 hours		5,486m	150km	Civil wars in Iraq and Syria
Mohajer-6	Multi-role, including ISR and air-to-ground strike	12 hours	40kg	5,486m	200km	Used against militants and terrorist groups in Iran
Shahed-129	Multi-role, including ISR and air-to-ground strike	24 hours	400kg	7,300m	1,700km	Syrian civil war
Shahed-123	ISR
Karrar	Multi-role				500km (combat range)

Missiles owned by Iranian defence

Iran’s missile arsenal includes close-range ballistic missiles (CRBMs), short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), and medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs), which can hit targets at a maximum range of 2,000km, as far as Israel and south-eastern Europe.

Some of the major missiles Iran possesses include short-range Fateh-series missiles, Shahab-series, Nazeat, and Dezful, among others. Most of the missiles the country has are ballistic surface-to-surface missiles.

Missile	Based Model	Category	Range	Warhead
Shahab-1	Soviet Scud-B	SRBM	Up to 350km	1,000kg
Shahab-2	Scud-C	SRBM	500km	770kg
Shahab-3	No Dong (NK)	MRBM	2000km	Up to 1,200kg
Fateh-110	Zelzal 2	SRBM	300km	650kg
Fateh-313		SRBM	500km	–
Qiam-1/ Qiam-1 ER	Derived from Shahab-2	SRBM	750km-900km	750kg
Khorramshahr	North Korean Musudan	MRBM	2,000km	1,800kg
Emad-1	Shahab-3 variant with a manoeuvrable reentry vehicle for increased precision	MRBM	up to 2,000km	750kg
Zolfaghar	Fateh-110 family variant with a submunition warhead	SRBM	700km
Dezful	Upgrade on Zolfaghar	MRBM	1,000km
Sejil-1		MRBM	2,000-2,400km
Sejil-2		MRBM	Up to 2,500km
Sejil-3 (Reportedly set to be the first IRBM)		IRBM	Up to 4,000km
Hoveyzeh	Part of Soumar cruise missile family		1,350km
Soumar		MRBM	Up to 3,000km

Air defence systems

System	Origin	Type	Range
SA-20c	Exported version of the Russian S-300PMU-2 missile defence system	Long-range strategic surface-to-air missile	200km
Bavar-373	Developed in Iran (claimed to offer better capabilities than S-300)	Long-range strategic surface-to-air missile	200km
Rapier	UK	Short-range surface-to-air missiles	10km
Almaz S-200 Angara (SA-5 Gammon)	Soviet Union	Long-range strategic surface-to-air missile	Up to 180km
MIM-23 Hawk	US	Medium-range surface-to-air missile	50km
Mersad	Iran	Medium-range air defence system (fires Shahin missiles)	45km
Raad and Khordad-3	Iran	Medium-range air defence system	50-75km

Naval assets

Submarines	Russian-built Kilo-class attack submarines, Ghadir midget submarine (based on North Korean-designed Yono-class), Nahang midget submarines, and Fateh-class coastal submarine
Surface Combatants	Vosper Mk 5-class, frigates, Jamaran-class frigates and Sahand-class frigate
Missile/Patrol Boats	Chinese-built Houdong missile boats and La Combattante class (Kaman class) patrol craft
Other Platforms	Fast attack craft (FAC), fast inshore attack craft (FIAC)

Naval missiles

The Iranian Navy also has a range of anti-ship and coastal defence missiles.

Missile	Type	Range
Noor	Coastal defence cruise missile	Up to 170km
Ghader/Qader	Anti-ship cruise missile	200km
Ghadir	Anti-ship cruise missile	300km
Nasr	Short-range anti-ship missile	35km
Jask-2 (in production phase)	Submarine-launched anti-ship cruise missile
Khalij Fars (based on Fateh-110)	Ballistic missile with infrared seeker	300km
Hormuz-1	Anti-radar ballistic missile
Hormuz-2	Active radar-guided ballistic missile	300km

Iran’s nuclear capabilities

Although Iran does not have any known nuclear weapons in its inventory, it has the ability to assemble a nuclear bomb with the available uranium stockpile.