Iran’s Use of Surface-to-Surface Cluster Missiles as a Manifestation of State Terrorism
The Iranian regime has used terrorism against Israeli targets for many years to promote its interests, including deterrence and revenge. Its global terrorist attacks deliberately target civilians and it continuously supports a series of proxy terrorist organizations in the Middle East and provides them with weapons with which to attack the home front in Israel; The recent Israel-Iran War revealed an additional aspect of Iran's use of terrorism against Israel, involving the direct firing of surface-to-surface missiles at population centers. Iran deliberately targeted the home front despite its claim that the missiles allegedly targeted strategic installations and military bases; The most glaring example of Iranian surface-to-surface missile terrorism was the use of the Khorramshahr-4 missile, publicly unveiled in Iran in 2023, defined as a long-range strategic ballistic missile which carries approximately 80 small cluster bombs, which scatter indiscriminately and cause extensive damage. During the war, Iran conducted the missile’s first operational use, causing widespread damage; In ITIC assessment, the concept behind developing surface-to-surface missiles like the Khorramshahr-4 and launching them at Israeli territory was to cause maximum damage to civilians and serve as a tool of terrorism to sow fear and disrupt daily life. As such, the Khorramshahr-4 is another form of Iranian terrorism targeting civilian populations, setting a dangerous international precedent in the use of long-range cluster surface-to-surface missiles as a form of state terrorism.
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