Prof. Marandi on how Iran built its missile program from absolute zero 13 men sent to Syria in 1984 with orders to acquire knowledge no one would sell them From Scud reverse-engineering to the Sejjil — liquid fuel to solid fuel, foreign lineage to indigenous design The lineage is wild when you trace it back: Russian theorist Tsiolkovsky wrote the math in 1903. USA's Goddard built the first liquid rocket in 1926. The Nazis weaponized it into the V-2. The Soviets captured the factories after WWII and reverse-engineered it into the Scud. Soviets sold Scuds to Syria and Libya, which then passed it on to Tehran. The AK-47 democratized infantry warfare. The Scud democratized deterrence. The Shahed is democratizing air power; cheap, mass-produced, and pointed the other way.
