After decades of building its arms industry in the face of Western sanctions, Iran possesses more than 3,000 ballistic missiles and some 20 varietes of drone. But pitched against Tehran's arsenal are Israel's own formidable air defences.
The events of Saturday night, however, represent a seismic shift in that stance, with Iran now willing to directly confront Israel and putting on display to a global audience its carefully-massed missile arsenal as its means of doing so. According to a Pentagon assessment, Tehran itself now has about 3,000 ballistic missiles and, via its catalogue of cruise missiles and drones, can offer its customers a strike range of between 123 miles and just under 2,000 miles.
There is also evidence that Iran is seeking to acquire one of the most advanced types of missile technology – so-called hypersonic weapons which reputedly travel at speeds making their interception virtually impossible. Tal Inbar, a senior research fellow at the Missile Defencee Advocacy Alliance think-tank, said Tehran is believed to be working on two types of hypersonic weapon, including one which has entered preliminary testing.
The development of the Shahed drones also serves as an example of how Iran has become adept at evading the decades-old Western sanctions imposed on its economy to secure supplies of components made by American and European companies to manufacture its arms.