Indeed, Iran has assisted Houthi forces, who belong to the same Shia branch of Islam, with missile and drone technology, so it was not surprising to see an advanced cruise missile in their possession. This missile bears an uncanny resemblance to the Soumar. Meanwhile the Houthis unveiled the similar Quds-1 missile on July 8. The Iranian copy is, however, armed with a conventional explosive warhead and is launched from a truck instead of a bomber.
Iran allegedly received several of these Ukrainian examples on the black market in the early 2000s, hence the reverse-engineered Soumar missile. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, some missiles ended up in Ukrainian hands. It’s still in service with the Russian Air Force. This was developed during the Cold War as a nuclear-capable air-launched missile to arm Soviet strategic bombers. Externally it is almost identical to the distinctive Kh-55 missile, known as AS-15 Kent by NATO. Iran does have a cruise missile that would fit the bill: the Soumar, which was revealed during a ceremony in March 2015. The date and location of the images could not be ascertained. Images circulated after the attack on social media of the wreckage of what was claimed to be a missile in the Saudi desert.
