Western Officials Concerned About Missile That Iran Used In Recent Attacks: Report

 Western intelligence and defense officials are reportedly concerned about the missile that the Islamic Republic of Iran used this week to conduct strikes in neighboring countries in the Middle East and Asia.

Iran launched attacks early this week inside Syria and Iraq, claiming that it targeted militant groups and Israel’s Mossad.

Iran then upped the stakes with their belligerent behavior when they launched attacks against militant groups inside Pakistan. Pakistan, which faces a giant adversary in India on the other side of the country, was forced to respond with its own attacks against groups inside Iran.

The attacks grabbed officials’ attention due to the range and the accuracy that Iran’s missiles had, which far surpassed the capabilities of their old Soviet-era missiles.

The New York Times reported that the West had long believed the only threat that Iran posed was its cyberattacks, which even then were limited compared to Western cyber abilities.

However, Iran’s ability to manufacture suicide drones by the thousands — which Russia is buying and using in Ukraine — combined with its use of its new Kheibar Shekan ballistic missile in this week’s attacks have forced officials to reconsider their defense posture toward Iran.

“Unveiled in 2022, the Kheibar Shekan is a solid-propellant precision-guided missile that has a range of 1,450 kilometers, or about 900 miles — meaning it can hit Israel,” the report said. “But what makes it stand out from the rest of Iran’s arsenal is that its warhead can nimbly maneuver with tiny aerodynamic fins to evade at least some traditional air-defense systems.”

 

Experts said that while Iran appears to have miscalculated with its attack on Pakistan, it was trying to showcase their newer missiles to appease their citizens after there have been multiple attacks carried out inside Iran over the last few weeks. They said Iran likely used the missiles to test them in combat conditions, send a message to Israel and the U.S., and to attract new customers as the nation becomes one of the top arms suppliers in the region.