As a tenuous ceasefire holds between the US and Iran, it seems Tehran is already preparing for the next round of hostilities, having used the brief ceasefire window to repair its missile and drone launch and production facilities.
Meanwhile, the US is considering deploying its long-range hypersonic missile to Iran theatre. If approved, this would be the first time ever that Washington has deployed a hypersonic missile to an active conflict.
On April 29, an Iranian lawmaker warned that the country’s missile and drone stockpiles are “sufficient to sustain years of war.”
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, deputy head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said Tehran has yet to reveal its full capabilities.
“We have not yet shown our new cards,” he said in comments carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
He also claimed that the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has failed and that dozens of Iranian ships are transiting the strait without any intervention from the US.
Separately, Hamad Akbarzadeh, political assistant to the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, said naval forces would use new capabilities in the event of any US military action against the country.
Speaking at a public gathering in the southern city of Minab on April 28, he warned that if the United States takes military action, the IRGC Navy would employ what he described as advanced targeting systems and new operational capabilities.
🚨🇮🇷 Iran unveils new Arash drone at Tehran rally
The Shahed-136-like kamikaze drone debuted at a daily pro-Iran protest tonight. Its predecessor, the Arash-2, hit Ben Gurion Airport on 21 March with a 2,000 km range.
Iran keeps building new weapons while the ceasefire holds. https://t.co/jSqFa30Xv2 pic.twitter.com/krcJ8oDWVv
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) April 29, 2026
He said such capabilities could be used against large naval vessels in the region, according to Middle East Eye.
Meanwhile, on April 27, in a powerful show of force, Iran unveiled what it calls a “game-changing” next-generation Arash attack drones in Tehran.
Iran Unveils New Kamikaze Drones
The new Arash, a one-way kamikaze drone and an upgraded version of the Arash-2, was publicly displayed at Enghelab Square in Tehran during anti-U.S. and anti-Israel gatherings.
Visuals show drones mounted on trucks, paraded through large crowds, with people waving Iranian flags.
Notably, the unveiling of a new drone in the middle of the war proves the claims made by the Iranian lawmaker Boroujerdi that Tehran has yet to reveal its full capabilities and still has some cards left in its arsenal.
Iran has used the Arash-2 drone during the war.
According to Iranian claims, it used its long-range “Arash-2” drone to target Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, a key civilian and economic hub.
Iranian Army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said “Arash-2” drones were the main systems deployed in the strike, calling them “a more advanced and destructive model than the ‘Kian’ and ‘Arash-1’ drones,” according to Mehr news agency.
The “Arash-2” is a long-range loitering munition, developed by Iran and publicly unveiled in 2022. It is an upgraded version of the earlier “Arash-1” system and is designed for deep-strike missions.
According to Iranian military officials and defense reports, the ‘Arash-2’ drone has a range of over 2,000 km and can carry a warhead of 260 kg.
The wingspan of “Arash-2” is 4.5 m. It has solid-fuel boosters and can be equipped with optical and thermal imaging scanners to detect various types of targets.
The drone is launched from a specialized platform and from a container. It is also possible to launch from naval platforms.
According to Iranian media, the drone can detect radar signals and thus can also be used to suppress enemy air defenses.
The drone unveiled in Tehran on April 27 is an upgraded version of the Arash-2; however, its specifications have not yet been released.
Furthermore, satellite images show that Iran has already cleared the bunkers, silos, and launch pads at these sites in just over 48 hours after the ceasefire.
Writing on her Substack, noted defense analyst Patricia Marins said that Iran has “quickly regained the ability to launch hundreds of missiles per day, at a moment when the coalition’s stock of interceptors is running low.”
This, Marins asserted, could be a major problem for the coalition forces.
Notably, on the first day of the war, Iran launched over 700 missiles and over 1,000 drones all over the US bases in the Middle East.
Marins highlights that Iran has always prepared for an asymmetric war.
“Asymmetric warfare is different. You prepare for a conflict in which you will be heavily bombed and must respond with resilience and gradual deployment, turning the war into a long, exhausting, and attritional struggle.
“In Iran’s case, a mountainous country, many of these fortifications are built inside mountains, taking advantage of the natural terrain, just as the Vietnamese used the jungle to hide their equipment.”
These assertions contradict the official US version that Iran’s missile and drone launching capability has been nearly obliterated in the war.
According to Marins, during the truce phase, Iran has also made improvements to some of its short-range air defense systems (SHORAD), primarily the Qaem-118 (also spelled Ghaem-118), which proved effective against MALE drones.
“During the 15 days of truce, Iranian engineers applied software updates to the system’s processors to improve signal filtering, after analyzing radar and heat data collected during confrontations with F-35s and MQ-9 drones in the previous weeks.”
In addition, Iran has reportedly implemented datalink integration to connect the Qaem-118 to mobile radars, receiving the target’s position via radio and activating its own sensors only in the final second before launch.
Reportedly, Iran is also updating its 358 missile that was supposedly used to hit the F-35 fighter jet. The 358 is a missile that loiters in the sky to engage drones and helicopters.
During the 15-day pause, the focus was on updating its image recognition algorithm.
The frantic pace at which Iran is upgrading its systems and repairing its missile-launching facilities clearly shows that, simultaneously with peace talks, Tehran was also preparing for the next round of hostilities.
However, Iran is not the only party that is preparing for the next round of hostilities.
According to the US media, the US military is reportedly considering sending its long-range hypersonic missile to the Middle East, to possibly strike ballistic missile launchers embedded in Iran.
U.S. To Deploy Dark Eagle to Iran?
The request was made by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) and justified on the grounds that Iran has moved its missile launchers further deep into the country, effectively taking them out of the range of the Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM), which can hit targets more than 300 miles away, a person with direct knowledge told Bloomberg.
According to reports, the long-range hypersonic missile the US wants to deploy is the Dark Eagle, which is still not fully operational.
If approved, this would be the first time the US has deployed a hypersonic missile in a conflict.
The Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon, known as Dark Eagle, has a reported range of 1,725 miles and is specifically made for “long range conventional precision strike capability” against “time-sensitive and heavily defended targets,” according to the Library of Congress.
Dark Eagle is designed for pinpoint attacks on well-protected targets and can move faster than five times the speed of sound.
Each missile costs roughly US$15 million, and there are no more than eight in total, the source told Bloomberg. Each battery will also cost roughly US$2.7 billion.
Notably, Russia and China are the leaders in hypersonic missile technology. While both Russia and China have multiple operational hypersonic missiles, the US has none. Russia has even used at least three different hypersonic missiles, Kinzhal, Zircon, and Orshenik, during the Ukraine War.
By using the missile in Iran, the US will be able to study its strengths and weaknesses in a real war situation.
Thus, the US will be able to not only target Iran’s missile launchers under hardened structures but will also be able to bridge a crucial capability gap with China and Russia.
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