Iran–Israel War: Tehran deploys deadly cluster-equipped missiles on Israel, heightens civilian dangers that can outlast the conflict

Israeli military officials have claimed that Iran has now fired ballistic missiles carrying cluster munitions toward Israeli territory, marking the first reported use of such weapons in the current war. Cluster weapons are a controversial form of modern bombs; their unique characteristic is the ability to disperse dozens of smaller explosives over a wide area, effectively causing carpet bombing. Israeli defence officials say that some Iranian cluster missile warheads can release close to 800 submunitions mid-air, spreading destructive fragments across several kilometers.

Military analysts warn that the introduction of these weapons changes the dynamics of the conflict. Instead of a single explosion at one point, a cluster warhead can scatter bombs across a large zone, increasing the risk to civilians and leaving behind unexploded ordnance that can remain lethal long after the fighting ends.

At the centre of the debate now is not only the immediate military threat but also the question of how Iran developed this capability, especially in a country where scientists linked to advanced weapons programmes have frequently been targeted in assassinations. Israeli experts have suggested that external assistance may have played a key role, raising speculation about possible transfers of military know-how from Russia or China.

Israeli military officials claimed that at least one Iranian ballistic missile carrying cluster munitions struck central Israel during the latest round of attacks. Israeli reports suggest that the warhead split open at an altitude of about 4 miles, or roughly 7 km above the ground, and released close to 20 submunitions, dispersing them across a radius of 5 km.