A Hezbollah fighter. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Hezbollah terrorists are using Iranian-made anti-tank missiles in Syria that could be used against Israel in a future confrontation, the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) has learned.

On Sunday, Iranian news agency ABNA reported that Hezbollah is using Toophan anti-tank missiles manufactured by Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization.

The Toophan is a reverse-engineered version of the American military BGM-71 TOW missile, with a payload of a 3.6 kg warhead that is capable of penetrating up to 550mm of steel armor. The missile can reach a top speed of 310 m/s, with a range of 3,850m.

Israel frequently has voiced concerns over Hezbollah acquiring sophisticated weaponry –including new Iranian anti-tank missiles — that could end up being utilized against in a future battle between Israel and the Shiite terrorist organization.

This development comes amid growing Iranian expansion in Syria and throughout the region. Since the launch of Iran’s October ground operation in northern Syria, more than 135 Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) troops have been killed, according to a report written by Raz Zimmt — an expert on Iran’s political and social networks.

Click here for the full analysis published by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.

The commander of IRGC’s Qods Force — Qassem Soleimani — was also seen in public on January 21, his first appearance since he was reported injured in Syria. Soleimani spoke at a memorial service for an IRGC brigadier general killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike near Quneitra in the southern Golan Heights. That airstrike also killed six Hezbollah terrorists, including Jihad Mugniyeh, son of arch-terrorist Imad Mugniyeh.

Iran is working with Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, to set up a base of operations along the Syrian border to target the Jewish State.

Iran has also increased its interventions in Iraq and Yemen in recent months, as the Islamic Republic seeks to expand its presence throughout the Middle East in an effort to achieve regional hegemony.

Steven Emerson is the Executive Director the Investigative Project on Terrorism (www.investigativeproject.org) where this article first appeared.