ABSTRACT
At the time of the fundamentalist revolution in 1979, Iran had no long-range artillery rocket or ballistic missile capabilities to speak of. This situation remained essentially unchanged through the following year when Iraq launched its invasion. The continued Iraqi use of FROG-7A artillery rockets against Iranian cities led to Iran's interest in artillery rockets and ballistic missiles. The origins of the Iranian missile program can tenuously be said to date back to the late 1970s, during the last years that the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi ruled Iran, and the joint Israeli-Iranian "Project Flower." Iraq had begun the war with an inventory of approximately 24 FROG-7 A and 12 SCUD-B transporter-erector-launchers. On the morning of 7 December 1986, the Oghab made its operational debut as three Oghabs were launched at the southern Iraqi city of Basra by "Missile Units of the Iranian Ground Forces."
