Qassem Bassir
The Qassem Bassir missile is an Iranian medium-range ballistic missile unveiled in May 2025.With a solid-fueled, two-stage system, it is presented as an improved variant of Iran’s Haj Qassem series, named after Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. Iranian officials state the Qassem Bassir has a range of about 1,200 km, and features enhanced guidance and countermeasure resistance. The missile was revealed by Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh on Iranian state television on 4 May 2025.
Development
The Qassem Bassir emerged from Iran’s ongoing missile program development. It is explicitly an upgrade of the "Shahid Haj Qassem" medium-range ballistic missile first unveiled in 2020.Design and technical characteristics
Estimates from Iranian sources suggest the Qassem Bassir re-enters the atmosphere at speeds up to ~Mach 11 and impacts at about Mach 5, classifying it as hypersonic at terminal phase.Guidance system
The Qassem Bassir’s guidance system combines inertial navigation with an advanced electro-optical sensor for the terminal phase. According to the Iranian Defense Ministry, it carries a thermal imaging (Infrared) camera that allows the missile to visually identify and home in on designated targets by their heat signatures, this means it can attempt to "see" its target and maneuver toward it without relying on any satellite GPS signal. Iranian reports claim that during testing the Qassem Bassir flew under intense jamming, yet its autonomous optical seeker and onboard inertial units maintained trajectory. Observers note this is the first Iranian MRBM reported to use an image-based terminal seeker. In practice, this guidance scheme should make the Qassem Bassir largely immune to radio-frequency jamming; as one analyst explained, by matching real-time images to stored terrain or target shapes, the missile avoids any external signals that an enemy could block. Iran claims that the Qassem Bassir can achieve near "meter-level" accuracy against selected targets.Missile defense evasion
During reentry, the missile's fins reportedly allow the warhead to perform course changes at supersonic speedIndependent analysts caution that such figures likely include elements of propaganda. Others, such as Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King’s College London, are skeptical about Iran's claims about the new missile, stating that they need to be taken with a "pinch of salt,”, further stating about Iran that "they claim a lot" in order to retain a deterrent posture in anticipation of a rise in military tensions between Iran and the US.
| Parameter | Reported figure/feature | Reported advantage |
| Range | ~1,200 km | - |
| Speed | ||
| Impact speed | Mach 5 | - |
| Length | ≈ 11 m | |
| Launch mass | ≈ 7 t | |
| Launch vehicle | Mobile transporter-erector-launchers | |
| Warhead | ~500 kg | |
| Fuel | Solid | - |
| Propulsion | Two‑stage solid‑fuel motor | |
| Guidance system | Thermal Imaging Sensor, Electro-optical imaging and onboard inertial measurement units as well as Electronic Protective Measures | Improved accuracy through identification of targets by heat signature during terminal flight phase, not dependent on satellite navigation systems though reportedly retains satellite signal correction capabilities. The EPM protects the missile's guidance system from electronic interference and jamming. |