Iranian manufactured Raad 1 missiles launched at Haifa (Updated)

The rocket attack on the northern Israeli city of Haifa has raised the stakes in the very hot war between Israel and Hezbollah, and increases the possibility of widening the conflict with Syria and Iran. Haifa, the country’s third largest city, is home to over 250,000 Israelis, and Hezbollah has proven it can now strike the city with its rockets. Israel can no longer countenance Hezbollah’s presence on its border.

The rockets used to strike Haifa (there were two fired) were the Iranian made and supplied Raad. The Raad is said to have a range of about 90 miles (or 150 kilometers, according to the Iranian run media); Haifa is only 30 miles south of the Lebanese border. The Iranians began mass-producing the Raad in January of 2004. In 2 1/2 years, the Raad is in the hands of Hezbollah and launched at a major Israeli city.

“For the first time, Israel mentioned the possible intervention of Iranian Revolutionary Guards based in Lebanon in the war. The danger is that they have long range rockets capable of traveling more than 200 kms and reach Tel Aviv,” said the Counterterrorism Blog’s Olivier Guitta. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the elite Qods Force (Iran’s version of special forces) funds, trains and arms Hezbollah in Lebanon, with the assistance of Syria. The IRGC is also rumored to have conventional military formations in the Syrian-controlled Bekaa Valley.

The accusations of direct Iranian involvement of long range missiles precedes the fighting of the past few days. On June 28, 2006, TIME Magazine, in an article titled “Will Hezbollah Go To War for Iran?“, looks at Hezbollah’s posture on the Israeli border and the potential for war. The strike on Haifa was foreshadowed by Israeli military officials, and the IRGC is accused of having direct operational control over the long range missiles.

Hezbollah officials have publicly said that the group possesses some 13,000 rockets. Most of them are believed to be standard Katyushas, which have a 12-mile range. But, Israeli officials say Hezbollah also maintains a supply of 220mm and even larger rockets from Iran, a “strategic threat” capable of hitting targets in Haifa – 20 miles inside Israel – and beyond. “They can target all of the north and go as far afield as Haifa, threatening one million inhabitants of Israel. It must be considered by Israel’s leaders at all times,” the Israeli military intelligence official says.

Israeli officials reportedly allege that the long-range rockets are under the direct command of officers of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, which Israel alleges has lately expanded its presence along the border. This charge, too, is denied by Hezbollah, and has not been independently confirmed.

Israel continues to conduct military operations throughout southern Lebanon. The Israeli Defense Forces are attempting to destroy Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, rocket launch sites, training camps, as well Lebanese infrastructure which can be used to facilitate the movement of weapons and supplies for Hezbollah. The IDF also prevent the two Israeli soldiers from potentially being moved out of country, possibly to Iran. For these reasons, the Damascus-Beirut road has been struck, along with bridges, Lebanese airfields and the fuel supply at the Beirut airport. Israel has also struck Hezbollah political offices in the southern suburbs south of Beirut, and has warned Lebanese to avoid Hezbollah-owned buildings.

The Iranians have already drawn the line at Israeli intervention in Syria, at least rhetorically. “If the Zionist regime commits another stupid move and attacks Syria, this will be considered like attacking the whole Islamic world and this regime will receive a very fierce response,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Hezbollah has yet to receive such assurances.

Update:

DefenseTech’s Noah Shachtmam has additional details on the Raad.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Tags: hezbollah, Israel, lebanon