Missile System Rebuilt, Barrages Reduced: What Remains in Iran’s Arsenal?

Military Intelligence in the IDF assesses that Iran has more than 1,000 ballistic missiles capable of reaching Israel, and perhaps even twice that number. This central question, concerning the size of the arsenal still in Tehran’s hands and Israel’s ability to defend itself, is at the heart of the renewed confrontation and its impact on daily life in the Israeli home front. The current campaign, “Roar of the Lion,” began at the end of February with an arsenal of about 3,000 missiles. As part of it, the Iranians launched about 550 surface-to-surface missiles, which caused some 25 scenes of destruction across the country. According to Home Front Command data, 72% of the missiles launched during “Roar of the Lion” carried a dispersing warhead, cluster munitions, and the rest were “regular” missiles carrying warheads weighing hundreds of kilograms. Since the ceasefire, Tehran’s missile array has been rebuilt, and the missiles were extracted from the tunnels where they had been buried following Air Force strikes. This means that Iran retains the ability to launch attacks at the Israeli home front for many weeks to come. As part of the renewed opening strike the Iranians had planned, Tehran had aimed to launch dozens of missiles. In practice, last night’s attack was far more limited and included only 11 ballistic missiles, launched in four separate barrages. Since morning hours, additional missiles have been fired at Israel. While the data on the number of interceptors remaining in Israel is classified and cannot be discussed, it can be noted that unlike Israel’s offensive efforts, which are carried out entirely with “blue and white” resources, the United States is taking an active and full part in efforts to defend the country’s skies.