Khaibar Shekan MaRV IRBM
Days after the talks on the 2015 nuclear agreement began in Vienna, Tehran on 08 February 2022 unveiled a long-range ballistic missile capable of striking the US bases in the region and also targeting inside archenemy Israel. The state TV reported that the missile, called Kheibarshekan [Khaibar-buster or castle buster], uses solid fuel and is capable of penetrating into missile shields with high manoeuvrability during the landing stage.
The missile is propelled by solid fuel. The new missile has a range of 1,450 kilometers (900 miles). Notably, Israel’s closest point to Iran is around 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) away. Reportedly, it also has missiles that can travel up to 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles). The modified design of Kheibarshekan has reduced its weight by a third compared to the similar missiles, while its preparation time for launch has decreased to one-sixth of the ordinary ones.
The name Khaibar-buster has a reference to a Jewish castle in present-day Saudi Arabia that was overrun by Muslim warriors in the early days of Islam in the 7th century. Khaibar was an ancient settlement 300 km from Madinah on the road to Syria. When the emperors of Rome and Persia banished the Jews from their countries, they settled in Khaibar. They built forts and settled down to agriculture in the fertile land. Nearly all the Jewish tribes found Khaibar as their haven. The masses of Jews living in Khaibar were the strongest, the richest, and the best equipped for war of all the people of Arabia. They were more attached to their religion, more intelligent, and more learned.
The Muslims for their part, were certain that as long as the Jews held power in the Arabian peninsula, they (the Muslims) would not be left in peace. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, decided that a military campaign was the only option to subside this threat. The Jews were forced to come out and engage the Muslim forces in battle but, facing the onslaught of the Muslim forces they fled. Their fortress fell one after another into Muslim hands, the last of them being those of al-Watih and al-Sulaim in the al-Katibah area. Only then did the Jews become truly desperate, and they begged for peace. The siege of Khaibar lasted for twenty days.
There was a Jewish woman called Zainab bint al-Harith who tried to poison the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, by offering him a poisoned roasted sheep. The Prophet ate some but did not like it so he spat it out, but the companion Bishr bin al-Baraa ate the sheep and died as a result. Zainab was ordered to be killed after this news was confirmed.
The new missile was showcased for the first time during a ceremony attended by Chief of Staff of Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Commander of the IRGC’s Aerospace Division Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh and a number of other high-ranking military officials and commanders. The ceremony, which coincided with celebrations in Iran commemorating the 1979 Islamic Revolution, was held at an unidentified IRGC underground missile base.
Among its other features include its agility and high velocity in hitting the targets. “This long-range missile is domestically manufactured by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)… It has high accuracy and is propelled by solid fuel and is capable of penetrating missile shields,” Iranian state media reported.
The construction and development of solid fuel rockets in Iran has its roots in the heart of the imposed war. One of the most important rockets under development during the war was the construction of the IRGC (now the Ministry of Defense). Martyr "Islamic Engineer" was in charge of this project, which led to the construction of products with a range of 170 km and a heavier warhead than "Iran 130" and "Eagle".
The test of this rocket took place in the last months of the imposed war, and its effects on the enemy front were remarkable. But the most important effects of this rocket, later called the "earthquake", became apparent a little over a decade later. After the end of the imposed war, the development of "Nazeat" and "Zelzal" rockets continued, and in terms of range, type of fuel and some other cases, a diverse family was formed and various units of the IRGC and the army used it.
The use of composite materials in the body of the missile can greatly reduce the weight of the tank and the body of the missile in general. The lighter body of the missile allows the weapon to carry a heavier payload or warhead. A Tehran-based newspaper reported on the recent dimensions of the IRGC Air Force test and wrote that the IRGC Air Force Commander's remarks should be sought not on a case-by-case basis, but against the background of previous developments and positions of Iran and military commanders; An issue that suggests Iran is likely to seek to increase the range of its ballistic missiles.
One of the drawbacks of ballistic missiles is the predictability of their trajectory to the target, which was solved by attempting to build maneuverable warheads; However, these maneuverable warheads are only capable of overtaking state-of-the-art anti-missile systems such as the Patriot. For this reason, world powers use missile defense shields that are capable of targeting missiles at high altitudes before the start of the warhead maneuvering process. Now, using engines with the ability to change the thrust vector, Iran's long-range missiles are able to unpredictably make their way past the first and final stages of anti-missile shields.
The release of new details of Iran's missile program during the eighth round of talks on reviving the nuclear deal in Vienna shows that the dimensions of Tehran's new test include not only technical issues but also different political goals and consequences. The following are a number of possible political goals and consequences of the new Iranian experiment.
The West and the media on this front emphasize that the resumption of the nuclear deal with Iran could show Tehran restraint in developing its missile programs. The new action of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in the field of missiles, at a time when some positive positions are taken on the resumption of the agreement by the countries present in the nuclear talks, is an emphasis on the unlimited nature of Iran's missile program even if the agreement is revived.
This Iranian missile is not to be confused with the much smaller Khaibar-1 rocket, a 302 mm unguided, rail-launched surface-to-surface rockets with a fixed fin configuration, fired from four and six rocket capacity box launchers. These have been documented in fixed positions, as well as mounted on light trucks and semi-trailers. These multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) have been documented in the aftermath of Israeli strikes in Lebanon, in 2006, and as captured by rebels in Syria, in 2013.
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