By Noureddine Omar | 2025-10-03

The Iranian regime’s persistent investment in missile programs -- despite repeated failures -- shows the steady decline of its military capabilities, experts said.

Media reports indicated last week that the regime may have conducted an unannounced missile test at the Imam Khomeini Space Base.

The launch took place at a circular pad often used for major civilian space missions.

Tehran has not officially acknowledged the event, but a member of parliament, Mohsen Zanganeh, claimed on state television that the test involved an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Military analysts said the alleged test underscores regime's determination to maintain its missile program, even as the failures pile up.

"The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been promoting its missile capabilities as a protective shield for Iran and a means of threatening Gulf and Middle Eastern countries," said military expert Jamil Abu Hamdan.

"However, the recent war with Israel demonstrated the futility of these capabilities, both defensively and offensively," he added.

Early evidence of the latest launch points to another setback, said Abu Hamdan

"Examining satellite images shows the test was a failure due to visible traces of burning. If it had been successful, the missile would have been clearly captured by satellites," he added.

Iran's economic hardship

Experts stressed that the regime’s continued spending on weapons comes at the direct expense of Iranian citizens, who are struggling with deteriorating living conditions.

"The IRGC, along with the Iranian regime as a whole, continues to waste the Iranian people’s money on failed missile tests," said Fathi al-Sayed, an expert on IRGC affairs.

"These tests are part of the nuclear program, at a time when the treasury urgently needs funds to meet the people’s basic needs, such as health and social care, and to improve purchasing power, which has declined as a result of the economic collapse," he added.

Iran’s domestic situation has reached a critical point, said al-Sayed.

"The situation has reached the point of a clear deterioration in infrastructure, especially water and electricity," he said.

"Protest movements by the Iranian people will escalate, especially since these tests are accompanied by statements confirming Iran’s insistence on pursuing its missile and nuclear programs," al-Sayed predicted.

He said that the regime's ambitions also worsen the country’s international standing.

"The regime’s continued missile program increases its isolation in addition to the sanctions," he said.

Ordinary Iranians had hoped for relief through the easing of sanctions, the release of frozen assets, and an economic revival after years of hardship.

Instead, the regime’s pursuit of costly, failing missile projects is deepening both domestic suffering and global alienation.