US Worried by New Iranian Missiles Threatening Naval Vessels

Washington is expressing renewed concern over Iran's missile capabilities following recent attempts to target U.S. warships in the Middle East. The Wall Street Journal reports that two specific Iranian missiles are at the center of this concern: the relatively new Qasem ballistic missile, designed for medium ranges, and the older Khalij Fars, specifically developed for anti-ship warfare.

Both missiles are reportedly equipped with electro-optical guidance systems for the terminal phase of flight, enabling them to identify and adjust their trajectory towards a moving target. This capability is particularly significant when targeting naval vessels, which can change position and direction during a missile's flight, unlike static land targets.

The Qasem, unveiled in May 2025, is described as an upgrade to the Haj Qasem missile and is said to be a two-stage, solid-fuel missile with a range of approximately 1,200 kilometers and a 500-kilogram warhead. While attributed with maneuverability and electronic warfare countermeasures, its effectiveness against moving ships remains publicly unproven.

The Khalij Fars, introduced in 2011 and operational since 2014, is based on the Fateh-110 missile family. It has a reported range of about 300 kilometers, carries a 650-kilogram warhead, and uses solid fuel. Its guidance system combines inertial navigation with terminal electro-optical targeting, intended to engage moving targets. Iran claims it can reach maximum range in under five minutes and travel at speeds up to Mach 3, though Western sources have not fully verified these specifications.

Beyond the missiles' accuracy, U.S. officials are concerned about Iran's ability to locate naval targets in the first place. Effective targeting requires intelligence on a ship's approximate location, raising fears that Iran maintains robust intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities despite previous damage to its systems. U.S. sources have suggested potential assistance from China or Russia in gathering data on American ship movements, citing past U.S. sanctions on Chinese entities for providing satellite imagery to Iran during conflicts.

The core U.S. anxiety lies in the potential combination of intelligence gathering that can track warships far offshore and missiles capable of homing in on moving targets in their final flight stages. While there is no definitive proof Iran has used the Qasem against U.S. assets, the mere possibility of Iran linking ship location intelligence with missiles that can correct their course is causing significant worry within the American security establishment.