Iraq's Scud Missiles Were So Terrifying They Drove a Quarter of Tehran's Population To Flee

The Soviet-made Scud triggered a regional missile race

Patriot missiles intercept Iraqi Scuds over Tel Aviv in February 1991. Israeli government photo

by PAUL IDDON

Iraq received its first SS-1C Scud-B short-range ballistic missiles from the Soviet Union 50 years ago. The crude Scuds terrorized the wider region for the next 16 years. And they compelled rival states to invest more in ballistic missiles, triggering an arms race across the Middle East.

Baghdad received its first Scud-Bs in early 1975. The acquisition worried Iran. Then ruled by its final shah, Iran was building up a large, American-equipped military including a powerful air force. However, it lacked comparable ballistic missiles—or defenses against ballistic missiles.

The shah wanted to buy MGM-31 Pershing ballistic missiles from the United States. Washington declined to sell the nuclear-capable missiles.

In 1977, Iran and Israel launched Project Flower, a secretive collaborative effort to develop new missiles.

“You must have ground-to-ground missiles,” Israeli defense minister Ezer Weizman told the Iranians. “A country like yours, with F-14s, with so many F-4s, with the problems surrounding you, [must have] a good missile force.”