Iranian TOWs In Syria
10th February 2016
In Syria Lebanese Hezbollah fighters have been seen using the Iranian Toophan ATGM (Anti-Tank Guided Missiles). This is an Iranian copy of the American TOW (Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided) that entered service in 1970. When the Iranian monarchy was overthrown in 1979 the rebels found themselves in possession of lots of modern American weapons, including plenty of TOW systems. By the 1990s Iran had managed to copy the TOW as the Toophan. By 2000 they upgraded it and are now supplying Hezbollah with dozens of systems. Iran probably noted that in early 2015 Kurdish forces fighting in Iraq and Syria were using the Chinese HJ-8 ATGMs, which is the Chinese version of the TOW.