Tehran / Washington / Tel Aviv — Iran has thrown down a gauntlet to the West, unveiling its new Fattah‑2 hypersonic missile and claiming to have used it in live strikes aimed at Patriot and THAAD batteries protecting US and Israeli assets, in what generals call “a direct hit on the enemy’s confidence.”

In a choreographed TV spectacle, IRGC commanders revealed footage of a sleek, black glide vehicle streaking into the sky, boasting that Fattah‑2 can reach Mach 15, execute violent mid‑course turns and plunge almost vertically onto its target. Moments later, state media aired grainy clips of explosions near a Gulf‑based air‑defence site and an Israeli logistics hub, hinting these were Fattah‑2’s first “combat tests.”

Iran claims the missile’s maneuverable warhead and decoy package are designed specifically to overwhelm Patriot and THAAD, forcing them to waste interceptors or miss entirely. “For every billion dollars of their shield, we spend millions on the sword,” one IRGC analyst said.

US and Israeli officials, while confirming “attacks by advanced long‑range systems,” insist most threats were intercepted and downplay talk of a hypersonic breakthrough. But defence planners privately admit that tracking and engaging a missile that can twist, dive and sprint at extreme speeds pushes current systems to their limits.

Analysts warn that even if Tehran is exaggerating, the perception that Fattah‑2 can shred high‑end defences is itself a powerful weapon — one that could force Washington and its allies to rethink how close they dare to stand to Iran’s evolving arsenal.