The Shahab-2 is the Iranian variant of the Russian SS-1D ‘Scud-C’. It is a single-stage, liquid-propelled, short-range ballistic missile. It has a maximum range of 500 km, a minimum range of 50 km, and carries a single warhead with a maximum payload of 770 kg.¹ Other reports suggest that the Shahab-2 may carry submunition warheads.²

Shahab-2 Development

The Shahab-2 is derived from North Korea’s Hwasong-6 and was developed due to technological and material limitations in Shahab-1 ‘Scud-B’.³
The Shahab-2 has a reported length of approximately 10.94 m to 11.5 m, a body diameter of 0.885 m, and a launch weight of 6,095 kg.⁴ Iran began the Shahab-2 development program in 1988 and first tested it in 1991.⁵ The Shahab-2 has the same external dimensions as the Shahab-1 missile, but its larger fuel and oxidizer load and a lighter payload allow the missile to achieve its 500 km range.⁶ Due to its longer range, the Shahab-2 likely has worse accuracy than the Shahab-1 despite using a similar inertial guidance system, with estimates placing its Circular Error Probable (CEP) at around 700 m to 1,500 m.⁷

Iran negotiated to buy approximately 200 Scud-Bs and Scud-C missiles in the 1990s, and U.S. intelligence began to detect shipments of North Korean Scud-C missiles moving to Iran in 1991.⁸ Iran also succeeded in test-firing what U.S. intelligence identified as a Scud-C in 1991, renamed in Iran as the Shahab-2.⁹ In 2004, it became an active participant in all military drills and exercises.¹⁰

Iran may have aided Syria by building a Scud-C production facility in Hama.¹¹ Iran reportedly financed the construction of a missile factory in Syria built by North Korea.¹² This cooperation began after the 1991 Gulf War, and U.S. intelligence tracked a North Korean cargo ship reportedly carrying Scud-C missiles in the following year that were offloaded in Iran and flown to Syria.¹³

Qiam-1

An improved variant of the Shahab-2, Qiam-1, was first tested on August 10, 2010.¹⁴ By removing the missile’s tail fins and fitting a detachable triconic warhead, Iran sought to lower its radar signature, complicate interception by regional missile defenses, and improve on the poor accuracy that had limited the earlier Scud-based designs.¹⁵ The Qiam-1 is very similar to the Shahab-2, but it has a triconic shaped reentry vehicle, heavier launch weight (6,155 kg), smaller payload (750 kg), longer range (700 km to 800 km), and enhanced CEP of 500 m.¹⁶ Other sources place the Qiam-1’s CEP at 1000 m.¹⁷ The body diameter is 880mm, while the length is 11.5m.¹⁸ The Qiam-1 may also rely on a ground-based radar system that can guide the missile during its boost phase, and its separable warhead during reentry improves accuracy and complicates tracking.¹⁹ Iran conducted a second successful flight test on February 10, 2014, and a third on March 9, 2016.²⁰ According to Iran, during Operation True Promise IV in 2026, Iran employed several Qiam missiles against Israeli cities and U.S. military bases in Iraq.²¹