Israel vows response to Iran missile attack: Live updates | CNN

Variants of the Iranian Shahab-3 series ballistic missile were used in Iran’s attack on Israel, weapons experts who analyzed verified social media videos from the scene told CNN.

Trevor Ball, a former senior explosive ordnance technician for the US Army, told CNN that fragments consistent with Shahab-3 variants such as Emad or Ghadr, were identifiable from images and videos of the attack. In one video, debris of a booster with visible markings of an Emad missile was visible, according to Ball. Different models such as the Kheibar Shekan or, less likely, a Fattah could also have been used, he added.

The Shahab-3 is the foundation for all Iran’s medium-range ballistic missiles using a liquid-propellant, according to Patrick Senft, a research coordinator at Armament Research Services (ARES). “It is most likely based on a North Korean missile which itself is probably based on the Soviet-designed Scud missiles. The Shahab-3 was the first Iranian ballistic missile that could reach Israel,” he added.

Remnants of an Iranian ballistic missile, including the guidance section and the warhead, were visible in images and videos collected by CNN at the site of a rocket attack at a Shalhavot Chabad School in Gedera, according to both Ball and Senft. It is difficult to identify the exact model due to the lack of reference images, Ball said.

Hypersonic claims: Weapons experts expressed skepticism over claims that Iran used its Fattah 1 hypersonic missile for the first time during its attack on Israel.

“It’s one of their newest ballistic missiles, and they have a lot to lose from using it,” Ball said. “Israel would get an idea of its capabilities just from being used. There’s also the chance it could fail to function, giving Israel an even greater idea of its capabilities. They get free propaganda and risk nothing by saying it was used.”