Iran conflict 2026: Tehran tries to keep up ranged strikes as Diego Garcia attack shows capability limits

A picture dated 9 March 2026 purportedly showing Iran's Qom turbine engine production plant, destroyed by a US strike. (USCENTCOM)

Iran's state IRNA news agency said on social media on 23 March that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) had carried out what it called the “77 ^th wave of Operation True Promise 4”, which is its name for strikes against Israel, US forces and Gulf countries.

It said that Iranian forces had used liquid-fuelled Qiam-1 and solid-fuelled “Zolfaghar” missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the 76 ^th wave of the operation. The Qiam-1 has an estimated maximum range of 900 km, and the Zolfaghar 700 km. It added that Iran had carried out new UAV attacks on US and Israeli targets.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on social media on 23 March that its air defences had shot down 16 Iranian UAVs and 7 ballistic missiles in that day. That, it said, brought the total engaged since 28 February to 1789 UAVs, 352 ballistic missiles, and 15 cruise missiles.

Separately, the IRNA said on 23 March that Iran's army air defence forces had engaged and hit a US-made Low-cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) loitering munition in its southeastern region. It posted a photo purporting to be the downed UAV.

Missile infrastructure

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on social media on 21 March that it had struck IRGC facilities in Tehran used for the production, development, and storage of ballistic missile components. It added that it had hit a site of Iran's Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) responsible for producing missile fuel.