What are Iran’s military capabilities – and how much of a threat is it?

Published

1 month ago

June 14, 2025

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Israel’s attack on Iran targeted the “heart” of the country’s nuclear programme – including its facilities, ballistic missile factories, and top military chiefs.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have said that Operation Rising Lion was “pre-emptive”. It was undertaken to stop Iran producing a nuclear weapon “in a very short time”, according to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

Latest: Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear sites – and Iran responds

The attack came despite warnings from US President Donald Trump – who said intervention could “blow” US nuclear deal talks with Iran, which is believed to be rapidly advancing its nuclear programme.

Iran’s leader vowed to deliver “heavy blows” in response to the attack, and overnight on Friday launched a barrage of missiles at Israel, injuring dozens of people.

But what are Iran’s military capabilities – and to what extent do they pose a significant threat?

The IRGC

The IRGC – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – was set up to provide extra protection to the Islamic regime in 1979, and is the dominant branch of the Iranian Armed Forces.

The Revolutionary Guard – which had several senior leaders killed in Israel’s strikes – oversees Iran’s ballistic missile programme.

The IRGC, which answers to Iran’s supreme leader, has an estimated 125,000-strong military with army, navy and air units. Some analysts believe the figure is far higher.

It also commands the Basij religious militia, a volunteer paramilitary force loyal to the establishment and which is often used to crack down on anti-government protests.

Analysts say Basij volunteers may number in the millions.

The Quds Force is the IRGC’s foreign espionage and paramilitary arm that heavily influences its allied militia across the Middle East.

The IRGC, which is classified as a terrorist group by the US, wants to shape the Middle East in favour of Tehran.

In 1982, it founded Lebanon’s Hezbollah to export Iran’s Islamic Revolution and fight Israeli forces which invaded Lebanon that same year.

What are the IRGC’s military capabilities?

The IRGC has ground, air and naval capabilities – and oversees Iran’s ballistic missile programme, regarded by experts as the largest in the Middle East.

It has used the missiles to hit militants in Syria and northern Iraq.

The US, European nations and Saudi Arabia blamed Iran for a 2019 missile and drone attack which crippled the world’s biggest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia.

Iran denied any involvement in the assault.

The IRGC has its own intelligence wing and has extensive conventional combat hardware, which it showcased with its involvement in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

Experts believe its stock of cruise and ballistic missiles has the ability and range to hit any target within the Middle East region.

According to the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Iran is armed with the largest number of ballistic missiles in the region.

What do we know about the Iranian missile range?

The semi-official Iranian news outlet ISNA in April last year published details of missiles it said could reach Israel.

These included the Sejil, which is capable of flying at more than 10,500mph and has a range of 1,550 miles.

Another one, the Kheibar, has a range of 1,240 miles – while the Haj Qasem can reach targets 870 miles away.

Iran says its ballistic missiles are an important deterrent and retaliatory force against the US, Israel and other potential regional targets. It denies seeking nuclear weapons.

Iran had previously said it had built an advanced homemade drone named Mohajer-10 with an operational range of 1,240 miles.

It can fly for up to 24 hours with a payload of up to 300kg (660lbs), the Iranians claimed.

In the summer of 2023, Iran presented what officials described as its first domestically made hypersonic ballistic missile, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Hypersonic missiles can fly at least five times faster than the speed of sound and can take a complex trajectory, making them difficult to intercept.

The Arms Control Association, a Washington-based non-governmental organisation, says Iran’s missile programme is largely based on North Korean and Russian designs and has also received Chinese assistance.

It says Iran’s short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles include Shahab-1, with an estimated range of 190 miles.

Iran has cruise missiles such as Kh-55, an air-launched nuclear-capable weapon with a range of up to 1,860 miles.

An advanced anti-ship missile, the Khalid Farzh, with an approximate range of 186 miles, is capable of carrying a 1.1-tonne warhead.

How does Iran use other military groups?

Iran has been backing groups which have been attacking Israel, US interests, and Red Sea shipping.

This is in addition to its own rounds of retaliation with Israel, following post-October 7 2023 tensions in the region.

Built up over decades of Iranian support, the groups describe themselves as the “Axis of Resistance” to Israel and US influence in the Middle East.

The axis includes the Palestinian group, Hamas – but also the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, and the Houthi movement in Yemen, alongside various armed groups in Iraq and Syria.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah was set up by the IRGC in 1982 with the aim of fighting Israeli forces which had invaded Lebanon that year.

The heavily armed group, also an influential political player, is widely regarded as more powerful than the Lebanese state.

The Houthi movement established control over large parts of Yemen during a civil war, which began in 2014 when it overthrew the government, which was backed by Saudi Arabia – Iran’s main rival for regional influence.

The Houthis have long had friendly ties to Iran.

The movement announced at the end of October 2023 that it had entered the Gaza conflict by firing drones and missiles towards Israel – and later attacked shipping in the southern Red Sea.

The US believes the IRGC was helping to plan and carry out the Houthi missile and drone attacks, but Iran denies any involvement.

The Houthis deny being an Iranian proxy.

What are Iran’s nuclear capabilities?

The UN nuclear watchdog’s board of governors has found that Iran has not been complying with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years – after it vowed to open a new uranium enrichment facility “in a secure location”.

The country’s supreme leader made clear in June 2023 how Western nations cannot prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons.

At the time, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said a deal with the West was possible, but only if its nuclear infrastructure remained intact.

Iran has always denied having any intention to build a nuclear weapon.

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Israel resumes airdrops into Gaza – as baby girl dies weighing less than when she was born

Published

8 hours ago

July 26, 2025

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Israel resumes airdrops into Gaza - as baby girl dies weighing less than when she was born

Israel has resumed airdrops of aid into Gaza, as reports and condemnation of starvation and famine continue to spread.

In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces added that humanitarian corridors would also be established for United Nations convoys to deliver aid into the region, though it did not say when or where.

While the IDF “emphasises that combat operations have not ceased” – and reiterated claims there is “no starvation” in Gaza – it said: “The airdrops will include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar and canned food to be provided by international organisations.”

The military added that it is prepared to implement “humanitarian pauses” in densely populated areas.

Reports suggest aid has already been dropped into Gaza, with some injured after fighting broke out.

In other developments, Bob Geldof has accused Israeli authorities of “lying” about starvation in the territory – telling Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that the IDF is “dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers”.

He told Sky News: “This month, up to now, 1,000 children or 1,000 people have died of starvation. I’m really not interested in what either of these sides are saying.”

Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza from the start of March. It then reopened it with new restrictions in May, but said the supply had to be controlled to prevent it from being stolen by Hamas militants.

On Saturday, reports referencing US government data said that there was no evidence Hamas had stolen aid from UN agencies.

The IDF’s international spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, described such reports as “fake news” and said Hamas thefts have been “well documented”.

Airdrops ‘expensive and inefficient’

It comes as the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said that, as of Saturday, 127 people have died from malnutrition-related causes, including 85 children.

They include a five-month-old girl who weighed less than when she was born, with a doctor at Nasser Hospital describing it as a case of “severe, severe starvation”.

Health workers have also been weakened by hunger, with some putting themselves on IV drips so they can keep treating badly malnourished patients.

On Friday, Israel said it would allow foreign countries to airdrop aid into Gaza – but the UN Relief and Works Agency has warned this will not reverse “deepening starvation”.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini described the method as “expensive” and “inefficient”, adding: “It is a distraction and screensmoke. A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will.

“Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.”

He added that UNRWA has the equivalent of 6,000 trucks in Jordan and Egypt waiting for permission to enter Gaza.

MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned on Friday that 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished, and said the lack of food and water on the ground was “unconscionable”.

The UN also estimates that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food – the majority near the militarised distribution sites of the US-backed aid distribution scheme run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

In a statement on Friday, the IDF had said it “categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians”, and reports of incidents at aid distribution sites were “under examination”.

The GHF has also previously disputed that these deaths were connected with its organisation’s operations, with director Johnnie Moore telling Sky News: “We just want to feed Gazans. That’s the only thing that we want to do.”

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Bob Geldof accuses Israeli authorities of ‘lying’ about starvation in Gaza

Published

13 hours ago

July 26, 2025

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Bob Geldof accuses Israeli authorities of 'lying' about starvation in Gaza

Bob Geldof has accused the Israeli authorities of “lying” about starvation in Gaza – after Israel’s government spokesperson claimed there was “no famine caused by Israel”.

Earlier this week, David Mencer claimed that Hamas “starves its own people” while on The News Hour with Mark Austin, denying that Israel was responsible for mass hunger in Gaza.

Appearing on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Geldof said the claims are false.

Follow latest: Gaza aid airdrops a ‘smokescreen’ and ‘distraction’, says UN agency chief

Mr Phillips asked the Live Aid organiser: “The Israeli view is that there is no famine caused by Israel, there’s a manmade shortage, but it’s been engineered by Hamas.

“I guess the Israelis would say we don’t see much criticism from your side of Hamas.”

In response, Geldof said “that’s a false equivalence” and “the Israeli authorities are lying”.

The singer then added: “They’re lying. [Benjamin] Netanyahu lies, is a liar. The IDF are lying. They’re dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers.

“And while they arrive to accept the tiny amount of food that this sort of set up pantomime outfit, the Gaza Humanitarian Front, I would call it, as they dangle it, then they’re shot wantonly.

“This month, up to now, a thousand children or a thousand people have died of starvation. I’m really not interested in what either of these sides are saying.”

In the interview with Mark Austin on 23 July, Mr Mencer added: “This suffering exists because Hamas made it so. Here are the facts. Aid is flowing, through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Millions of meals are being delivered directly to civilians.” He also claimed that since May more than 4,400 aid trucks had entered Gaza carrying supplies.

It comes after MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished.

The charity said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels, and said that at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks.

MSF then called the lack of food and water on the ground as “unconscionable”.

In a statement to Sky News, an Israeli security official said that “despite the false claims that are being spread, the State of Israel does not limit the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip”.

It then blamed other groups for issues delivering aid. They said: “Over the past month, we have witnessed a significant decline in the collection of aid from the crossings into the Gaza Strip by international aid organisations.

“The delays in collection by the UN and international organisations harm the situation and the food security of Gaza’s residents.”

The IDF also told Sky News: “The IDF allows the American civilian organisation (GHF) to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip.

“Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned.

“The aforementioned incidents are under review by the competent authorities in the IDF.”

You can watch the full interview on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips at 8.30am tomorrow.

World

25% of young children and pregnant women malnourished in Gaza, charity says, as PM vows to fly critical medical cases to UK

Published

1 day ago

July 26, 2025

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25% of young children and pregnant women malnourished in Gaza, charity says, as PM vows to fly critical medical cases to UK

A charity has warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished, with Sir Keir Starmer vowing to evacuate children who need “critical medical assistance” to the UK.

MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels – with patients and healthcare workers both fighting to survive.

It claimed that, at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks – and described the lack of food and water on the ground as “unconscionable”.

The charity also criticised the high number of fatalities seen at aid distribution sites, with one British surgeon accusing IDF soldiers of shooting civilians “almost like a game of target practice”.

MSF’s deputy medical coordinator in Gaza, Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, said: “Those who go to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s food distributions know that they have the same chance of receiving a sack of flour as they do of leaving with a bullet in their head.”

Israel says it has let enough food into Gaza and has accused the UN of failing to distribute it, in what the foreign ministry has labelled as “a deliberate ploy” to defame the country.

‘Humanitarian catastrophe must end’

In a video message posted on X late last night, Sir Keir Starmer condemned the scenes in Gaza as “appalling” and “unrelenting” – and said “the images of starvation and desperation are utterly horrifying”.

The prime minister added: “The denial of aid to children and babies is completely unjustifiable, just as the continued captivity of hostages is completely unjustifiable.

“Hundreds of civilians have been killed while seeking aid – children, killed, whilst collecting water. It is a humanitarian catastrophe, and it must end.”

Sir Keir confirmed that the British government is now “accelerating efforts” to evacuate children from Gaza who need critical medical assistance, so they can be brought to the UK for specialist treatment.

Israel has now said that foreign countries will be able to airdrop aid into Gaza. While the PM says the UK will now “do everything we can” to get supplies in via this route, he said this decision has come “far too late”.

Last year, the RAF dropped aid into Gaza, but humanitarian organisations warned it wasn’t enough and was potentially dangerous. In March 2024, five people were killed when an aid parachute failed and supplies fell on them.

For now, Sir Keir has rejected calls to follow French President Emmanuel Macron and recognise a Palestinian state – despite more than 220 MPs signing a cross-party letter to demand he takes this step.

The prime minister is instead demanding a ceasefire and “lasting peace” – and says he will only consider an independent state as part of a negotiated peace deal.