Iran’s First Solid Fuel Missile: How Powerful is the Sejil Now Being Fired at Israel?

On June 18 Iranian government sources for the first time reported the use of Sejil medium range ballistic missiles for strikes on Israeli targets, as part of the latest series of attacks by the Revolutionary Guard Corps under Operation True Promise 3. Initiated in the late hours of June 13, the operation was launched in response to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israel-doing-the-western-world-s-dirty-work-german-chancellor-praises-attack-on-iran-amid-renewed-support" target="_blank">Israeli air strikes</a> on a wide range of Iranian targets earlier that day, including associations of senior military officials and scientists, and the targeting of key military and civilian infrastructure. The Corps has fired increasingly capable missiles at Israel as the two countries have exchanged multiple rounds of fire, although it remains uncertain whether further attacks using Sejil were launched after the first attack using three of the missiles. Developed from the early 2000s, the Sejil was one of Iran’s first missile class which used a solid fuel composite, allowing it to be stored fully fuelled and thus minimising its launch time. This made the missile and its associated launch vehicle far more survivable before firing, increasing the challenges for hostile aircraft, such as the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israeli-strike-damages-iran-arak-reactor" target="_blank">Israeli fighters currently operating </a>around Iranian airspace, when seeking to target it.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/20/article_685542373abd57_30561495.JPG" title="Destruction in Tel Aviv After Iranian Ballistic Missile Strikes">Following Iran’s license production of the North Korean Hwasong-7 as the Shahab-3 from the late 1990s, which provided the country with its first medium range ballistic missile capability, the Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly procured longer ranged North Korean Hwasong-10 ballistic missiles in the mid-2000s. The Hwasong-10 may have been intended as a stopgap until the indigenous Sejil was ready for service. Multiple reports have indicated that the Sejil was developed with extensive North Korean assistance, and made significant use of components from the East Asian country at least for its initial production models. Subsequent further indigenisation of production lines has been speculated. The Sejil was first test launched in 2008, and began to enter service near the middle of the 2010s. The missile uses a solid fuel composite in both of its two stages, and has a reported range of 2,500 kilometres, broadly equivalent to that of early variants of the Hwasong-10, while carrying a larger 700 kilogram payload. A number of sources have reported that the missiles can carry submunition warheads, with multiple Israeli sources reporting that some of the recently fired missiles have been equipped with such explosives for recent strikes.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/20/article_685542633af591_01265439.jpg" title="Shahab-3 Ballistic Missile License Produced in Iran">The Sejil has been among the most secretive of Iran’s missile programs, with its lack of a North Korean origin also being a factor limiting the details available. It is speculated, however, that the missile uses a manoeuvrable reentry vehicle to better evade enemy air defences, with such technologies having been exported to Iran and Syria by North Korea from the late 1990s in response to Israel’s procurement of <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israel-replenishes-ukrainian-patriot-air-defence" target="_blank">Patriot air defence systems</a> at the time. At the time of the outbreak of hostilities between Iran and Israel, the Sejil remained an ongoing program, with new more capable variants of the missile continuing to be developed. A number of sources reported that an intermediate range ballistic missile based on the Sejil design, with an extended 4000 kilometre range, is now under development, which would allow the Revolutionary Guard Corps to strike American and allied military bases across much of Europe. Iran’s ability to target distant American military facilities, the large majority of which lack ballistic missile defences, is thought to have contributed to deterring American intervention to more actively aid Israel’s ongoing offensives.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/20/article_685544bbecbb24_20182178.jpg" title="Newly Produced Sejil Ballistic Missile on Display">A major shortcoming of Iran’s missile arsenal is its lack of chemical or nuclear warheads, which has limited its potential compared to the arsenal fielded by North Korea and formerly by Syria. The considerable costs of delivering very long range payloads, combined with the limited damage that can be done with 500-700 kilograms of conventional explosives, has limited the appeal of pairing very long range missiles with conventional warheads. The Iranian civilian government has prohibited the development of unconventional warheads, which has been increasingly widely criticised domestically for constraining the country’s missile deterrent.&nbsp;Although the Sejil was previously considered to stand at the high end of the Iranian arsenal, its standing has diminished significantly as more sophisticated missile classes having been brought into service. The hypersonic glide vehicle equipped Fattah missile, which also saw its<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iran-launches-first-strike-isreal-mach-13-fattah-hypersonic" target="_blank" > first combat use on June 18</a>, is currently considered among the most capable both in the Middle East and in the wider world due to its advanced penetrative capabilities.&nbsp;The solid fuelled medium range missile was developed by building on the technologies developed for the Sejil, although its use of a&nbsp;hypersonic glide vehicle is thought to make it significantly more costly. With the Fattah having entered service only in 2021, the numbers available in service may also be more limited.&nbsp;