Tehran \/ Washington \/ Tel Aviv \u2014 Iran has thrown down a gauntlet to the West, unveiling its new\u00a0Fattah\u20112 hypersonic missile\u00a0and claiming to have used it in live strikes aimed at\u00a0Patriot\u00a0and\u00a0THAAD\u00a0batteries protecting US and Israeli assets, in what generals call \u201ca direct hit on the enemy\u2019s confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a choreographed TV spectacle, IRGC commanders revealed footage of a sleek, black glide vehicle streaking into the sky, boasting that Fattah\u20112 can reach Mach 15, execute violent mid\u2011course turns and plunge almost vertically onto its target. Moments later, state media aired grainy clips of explosions near a Gulf\u2011based air\u2011defence site and an Israeli logistics hub, hinting these were Fattah\u20112\u2019s first \u201ccombat tests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran claims the missile\u2019s maneuverable warhead and decoy package are designed specifically to overwhelm Patriot and THAAD, forcing them to waste interceptors or miss entirely. \u201cFor every billion dollars of their shield, we spend millions on the sword,\u201d one IRGC analyst said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US and Israeli officials, while confirming \u201cattacks by advanced long\u2011range systems,\u201d insist most threats were intercepted and downplay talk of a hypersonic breakthrough. But defence planners privately admit that tracking and engaging a missile that can twist, dive and sprint at extreme speeds pushes current systems to their limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Analysts warn that even if Tehran is exaggerating, the perception that Fattah\u20112 can shred high\u2011end defences is itself a powerful weapon \u2014 one that could force Washington and its allies to rethink how close they dare to stand to Iran\u2019s evolving arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n