Iran’s Simorgh missile, officially known as a Space Launch Vehicle (SLV), represents a key element of Iran’s (growing) space and ballistic missile programs. The missile is named after the mythical Persian bird known for its strength and benevolence, Simorgh is a two-stage, liquid-fueled rocket designed primarily to place satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO). 

Yet, its development has sparked consternation among the international community, which fears that Iran may be using their supposedly civilian nuclear weapons program as little more than a cover for their ballistic missile program. And that ballistic missile program is, of course, the cornerstone undergirding their nuclear weapons program.

Back in 2010, the cartoonish former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad authorized the creation of the Simorgh, also known as Safir-2. Officially, the Simorgh rocket is meant to place Iranian satellites in orbits around the Earth. 

It has a length of about eighty-nine feet and can place a 551-pound satellite into an orbit as high as 310 miles away. The missile has had varying degrees of success since its inception in 2010. Of the seven official missions it was sent on, three were unsuccessful, though four is more than half, so technically this missile has been a success. 

The Context

Western economic sanctions have specifically targeted the Simorgh and the components that make the missile up. So, the Iranians have struggled to get this system to its full potential in the last fourteen years. Nevertheless, the Islamic Republic possesses the industrial capabilities to build such machines. 

Anyway, the Simorgh rocket is not a vehicle for peaceful exploration or civilian satellite operations. It is very much a dual-use system, meaning that it can have both civilian as well as military applications. Even in the realm of satellites, having a satellite in the attic and a bomb in the basement helps the Iranian nuclear weapons program. Satellites will help Iran’s military have greater over-the-horizon attack capabilities and would help Iran to better target distant targets. 

And let’s just say that this was a civilian project. The lessons learned from the use of the Simorgh rocket could easily be applied to an actual intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). According to the publication Iran Primer, “It would take a handful of years” to “transform its Simorgh into an ICBM” and “would not likely become operational before 2023 or 2024.” The cited article was written in 2021, so the suspenseful music should be playing in your head right now.

Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Threat

While there are real debates about how advanced the Iranian nuclear weapons program is, even if the Iranians do have some rudimentary warheads, they lack the miniaturization technology needed to mount these weapons atop ICBMs, such as the Simorgh or an actual ICBM. 

At the same time, though, the collapse of the Assad Regime in Syria and the subsequent withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria means that Iran is on the strategic backfoot when it comes to its shadow war with Israel and the United States. Now, Tehran will need to expedite the development of its nuclear weapons arsenal and the subsequent delivery systems, including miniaturization technology. 

Iran’s Simorgh, though, would be more akin to an inter-range ballistic missile (IRBM) than an ICBM. The farthest many experts believe the Simorgh could reach is Europe. The United States would remain insulated from the Simorgh. The Middle East has been completely destabilized. Iran now finds itself on the back foot, with the U.S.-Israeli coalition riding high after Assad’s ouster. Tehran will next seek to expand its nuclear weapons capabilities, which, in turn, would bring about the ire of much of the rest of the world. 

America is on notice, but it has not noticed. 

Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is available for purchase wherever books are sold. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

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