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← Iran's Retaliation

True Promise III: Iran's Missile Campaign Against Israel

Evidence rating: CONFIRMED for the totals, from the Times of Israel. STRONG that more got through than Israel reported at the time, from France 24's open-source investigation.

Israel struck first, on the morning of June 13. That night Iran answered with ballistic missiles, and kept answering for twelve days. Iran named the campaign "True Promise III." This page is the Iranian side of the war's shooting, because it is the part American interceptors were spent to stop.

The numbers​

  • Totals. "550 ballistic missiles and around 1,000 drones," with about 90 percent of missiles intercepted and "31 ballistic missile impacts... reported in populated areas or critical infrastructure" (Emanuel Fabian, Times of Israel, June 24, 2025).
  • Waves. An IRGC spokesman later said Iran carried out "22 waves of operations" (Iran Military Monitor).
  • Pace. About 150 missiles on the first night, according to one Israeli-side summary (@gwire_pro). By the end of day three, 370 ballistic missiles, of which about 30 reached their targets (Pluralia). Israel said by June 17 that Iran had fired 400.
  • New weapons. In the 20th wave, on June 22, Iran said it used Heybarshekan missiles with multiple warheads for the first time (Sprinter Press roundup).

What Iran's leaders said they were doing​

  • Khamenei, June 13: "The regime must expect severe punishment" (@prestonstew_).
  • Pezeshkian, June 16: "If America does not rein in the Zionist regime, Iran will be forced to deliver more painful responses" (@Osint613). To Iraq's prime minister on June 15: "We did not start the war" (@AdityaRajKaul).
  • Pezeshkian, September 2026, looking back: "We responded, but we did not hit civilian populations" (@TheBelaaz). Iran's missiles did kill Israeli civilians; see Israeli Casualties.

What got through, and what was censored​

France 24's open-source team found that "around 10% of the Iranian missiles got through and struck targets inside Israel," and that the damage "was more extensive than was reported during the conflict, including strikes on military and strategic sites that were censored by the Israeli army." It geolocated 36 impacts, including three on energy infrastructure, one on a university research institute and four on military bases, and reported that on June 16 Israel's chief military censor told newsrooms not to film damage at or near military sites (France 24 Observers, August 15, 2025).

  • The Haifa oil refinery was hit; footage was released more than a year later, reportedly showing "3-4 interceptors were fired and couldn't stop" a Fattah missile (@DailyIranNews, September 2026).
  • Iran said on June 17 that it struck the headquarters of Israel's military intelligence and the Mossad in Tel Aviv (Tehran Times timeline). That is Iran's claim.
  • Israeli-media restrictions eased after the war: a July 2025 post noted "Israeli censorship becomes lax" as new missile footage appeared (Sprinter Press).

Why it matters to Americans​

Every one of those missiles was aimed at Israel, and a large share of the interceptors that stopped them were American. The US fired as many as 150 THAAD interceptors in the twelve days. See American Interceptors for Israel. Israel's war was defended, in part, out of the American arsenal.

Status: Masoud Pezeshkian and Emanuel Fabian are alive, as far as these sources show. Ali Khamenei is deceased (2026).

Sources​

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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