Iran: Missile manufacturing began during the Iraq War, and we launched the “Hormuz” anti-radar missile.
Iran: Missile manufacturing began during the Iraq War, and we launched the “Hormuz” anti-radar missile.
2026-11-10
Shafaq News – Tehran
Brigadier General Ali Balali, an advisor to the commander of the Aerospace Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, confirmed on Tuesday that the missile industry in his country has reached an advanced level of maturity and localization, noting that Iran is now producing accurate and advanced missiles based on its local capabilities.
In an interview with the Iranian news agency Fars, Balali said that the missile industry began during the Iran-Iraq War, when Iranian cities were being bombed. He explained that Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam founded the missile unit at that time and sent a team of 13 people to Syria to receive training on Scud missiles.
He added that after the team returned, Iran received two launch platforms and 30 missiles from Libya, which allowed it to begin retaliatory operations, before Libyan cooperation stopped, which prompted Iranian experts to repair the malfunctions themselves.
He explained that January 11, 1987, witnessed the launch of the first locally made “Scud” missile, noting that Iran was able over time to increase the range of its missiles from 300 to 2,000 kilometers, and improve their accuracy from a margin of error of 20 kilometers to less than five meters, according to him.
Bilali pointed to the development of specialized missiles, including the “Persian Gulf” anti-ship ballistic missile, which has a range of 500 kilometers and uses an optical seeker to target moving maritime targets, as well as the “Hormuz” anti-radar missile.
He stressed that the development of the Iranian missile industry is no longer limited to reverse engineering foreign models, but has extended to designing and producing new missiles that meet the operational needs of the armed forces.
He explained that the initial stages focused on developing surface-to-surface missiles to target fixed sites, before research turned to producing specialized systems capable of confronting moving targets, particularly ships and naval vessels.
He pointed out that the advancement of local technologies has enabled the development of longer-range missiles and more advanced systems, stressing that the embargo and sanctions will not stop the Iranian missile industry because, as he put it, it relies on local capabilities.
Bilali quoted a statement by former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, which said that “missiles are the identity of the young Iranian.”
shafaq.com
