<p >The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has confirmed the first ever launch of the new Kheibar medium range ballistic missile at Israel, adding to a growing list of ballistic missile classes which have been used for successful <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israel-mass-destruction-iranian-missile-strikes" target="_blank">strikes on Israeli targets</a> since the country <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israel-launches-major-strikes-iran-capital" target="_blank">initiated hostilities</a> against Iran on the morning of June 13. The class stands out from other missiles in Iranian service for its use of a particularly large <a href="x-apple-data-detectors://embedded-result/517" >1500 kilogram</a> warhead, which is one of the largest in the world mounted on a tactical ballistic missile. The Kheibar is from the Khorramshahr family of ballistic missiles, which were developed from the 2010s reportedly closely based on technologies from the North Korean Hwasong-10. Western sources have reported that the Korean missile was exported to Iran around 2005 alongside a technology transfer deal. The Kheibar has thus also also been referred to as the Khorramshahr-4, reflecting the fact that is a fourth generation iteration of the Khorramshahr. Two days before the outbreak of hostilities between Iran and Israel, a new variant of the same missile with an unknown designation was flight tested for the first time on June 11, and boosted a further expanded 2000 kilogram warhead. </p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/22/article_68582d404c4396_61649144.jpeg" title="Hwasong-10 Ballistic Missile Launch"></p><p >The first combat use of the Kheibar missile against Israel follows the use of a missile from the same family for the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/turkish-terror-iran-missile" target="_blank">first time in January 2024 </a>to strike Turkish-backed jihadist militants in the Syrian Idlib governate, after they had reportedly perpetrated a terrorist attack against civilians in Iran earlier that month. The attack was seen as a show of force aimed at both Turkey and Israel, as the two states had worked closely together for over a decade to <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2019-02-03/ty-article-opinion/.premium/israel-just-admitted-arming-anti-assad-syrian-rebels-big-mistake/0000017f-dbb0-db5a-a57f-dbfa71380000" target="_blank">support jihadist insurgents</a> against the Syrian government – a close Iranian strategic partner. Footage on June 22 has widely shown devastation across Israel, as Iranian missile attacks have intensified. Reports have increasingly surfaced of attacks being launched without triggering Israeli early warnings, resulting in sirens going off after missiles impact their targets. This has fuelled considerable speculation regarding the kinds of missiles that have been employed, with multiple reports indicating that medium range missiles with multiple reentry vehicles have begun to be used. </p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/22/article_68582dd08a2116_06865976.jpg" title="Kheibar (Khorramshahr-4) Ballistic Missile Launch "></p><p >Israeli air defences have increasingly struggled both with their increasingly <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israel-air-defence-shortages-iranian-hezbollah" target="_blank" >depleted</a> stocks of interceptors, and with an inability to target more sophisticated Iranian missile classes, and in many cases <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/yemen-strike-israeli-defences-fail" target="_blank">more basic ones as well</a>. As a loose derivative of the Hwasong-10, which is a relatively basic missile designed by current standards that has long since been phased out of production in North Korea, the Kheibar is not one of Iran’s more sophisticated designs. One of the country’s most capable missile classes, the Fattah, is equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle, and saw its<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iran-launches-first-strike-isreal-mach-13-fattah-hypersonic" > first combat use on June 18</a>. It is currently considered among the most capable tactical ballistic missile classes in the world due to its advanced penetrative capabilities, and is speculated to have benefitted from technology transfers from the North Korean Hwasong-8 hypersonic missile program. In contrast to the solid fuelled Fattah, the Kheibar is a liquid fuelled design, meaning it cannot be stored fully fuelled, and thus requires more preparation time before launch. It is estimated to cost considerably less than missiles like the Fattah, with the two having complementary strengths as the Kheibar provides a less costly means of delivery a larger payload, while the Fattah delivers payloads with much greater survivability against interception. </p>

<p >The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has confirmed the first ever launch of the new Kheibar medium range ballistic missile at Israel, adding to a growing list of ballistic missile classes which have been used for successful <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israel-mass-destruction-iranian-missile-strikes" target="_blank">strikes on Israeli targets</a> since the country <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israel-launches-major-strikes-iran-capital" target="_blank">initiated hostilities</a> against Iran on the morning of June 13. The class stands out from other missiles in Iranian service for its use of a particularly large <a href="x-apple-data-detectors://embedded-result/517" >1500 kilogram</a> warhead, which is one of the largest in the world mounted on a tactical ballistic missile. The Kheibar is from the Khorramshahr family of ballistic missiles, which were developed from the 2010s reportedly closely based on technologies from the North Korean Hwasong-10. Western sources have reported that the Korean missile was exported to Iran around 2005 alongside a technology transfer deal. The Kheibar has thus also also been referred to as the Khorramshahr-4, reflecting the fact that is a fourth generation iteration of the Khorramshahr. Two days before the outbreak of hostilities between Iran and Israel, a new variant of the same missile with an unknown designation was flight tested for the first time on June 11, and boosted a further expanded 2000 kilogram warhead. </p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/22/article_68582d404c4396_61649144.jpeg" title="Hwasong-10 Ballistic Missile Launch"></p><p >The first combat use of the Kheibar missile against Israel follows the use of a missile from the same family for the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/turkish-terror-iran-missile" target="_blank">first time in January 2024 </a>to strike Turkish-backed jihadist militants in the Syrian Idlib governate, after they had reportedly perpetrated a terrorist attack against civilians in Iran earlier that month. The attack was seen as a show of force aimed at both Turkey and Israel, as the two states had worked closely together for over a decade to <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2019-02-03/ty-article-opinion/.premium/israel-just-admitted-arming-anti-assad-syrian-rebels-big-mistake/0000017f-dbb0-db5a-a57f-dbfa71380000" target="_blank">support jihadist insurgents</a> against the Syrian government – a close Iranian strategic partner. Footage on June 22 has widely shown devastation across Israel, as Iranian missile attacks have intensified. Reports have increasingly surfaced of attacks being launched without triggering Israeli early warnings, resulting in sirens going off after missiles impact their targets. This has fuelled considerable speculation regarding the kinds of missiles that have been employed, with multiple reports indicating that medium range missiles with multiple reentry vehicles have begun to be used. </p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/22/article_68582dd08a2116_06865976.jpg" title="Kheibar (Khorramshahr-4) Ballistic Missile Launch "></p><p >Israeli air defences have increasingly struggled both with their increasingly <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israel-air-defence-shortages-iranian-hezbollah" target="_blank" >depleted</a> stocks of interceptors, and with an inability to target more sophisticated Iranian missile classes, and in many cases <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/yemen-strike-israeli-defences-fail" target="_blank">more basic ones as well</a>. As a loose derivative of the Hwasong-10, which is a relatively basic missile designed by current standards that has long since been phased out of production in North Korea, the Kheibar is not one of Iran’s more sophisticated designs. One of the country’s most capable missile classes, the Fattah, is equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle, and saw its<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iran-launches-first-strike-isreal-mach-13-fattah-hypersonic" > first combat use on June 18</a>. It is currently considered among the most capable tactical ballistic missile classes in the world due to its advanced penetrative capabilities, and is speculated to have benefitted from technology transfers from the North Korean Hwasong-8 hypersonic missile program. In contrast to the solid fuelled Fattah, the Kheibar is a liquid fuelled design, meaning it cannot be stored fully fuelled, and thus requires more preparation time before launch. It is estimated to cost considerably less than missiles like the Fattah, with the two having complementary strengths as the Kheibar provides a less costly means of delivery a larger payload, while the Fattah delivers payloads with much greater survivability against interception. </p>