Location: Latitude 26° 58' North; longitude 56° 16' East; 1,071km southeast of Tehran; province of Hormozgan

Primary Function: Testing and storage of missiles: Testing of HY-2 Silkworm, Hawk, Seersucker, Sayyad 1, and C-802 anti-ship missiles.

Description and Activities:
Qeshm is an island in the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, 1,071km southeast of Tehran. Qeshm, 26km from Bandar Abbas, is located in the province of Hormozgan. The Qeshm facility's primary activities include missile testing and storage. The island is a primary site for coastal defense missiles to threaten the Strait of Hormuz.

In February 1987, Iran reportedly conducted successful test fires of the Chinese-supplied HY-2 Silkworm missiles from a site on Qeshm Island. By the following month, US intelligence sources reported that Iran had installed C-802 anti-ship missiles near the Strait of Hormuz, and that approximately six missiles were located at two sites near the mouth of the Persian Gulf; one of those sites was Qeshm, the other was Abu Musa Island. Sirri Island, nearby and smaller, has Silkworm missiles deployed there also.

In March 1989, unnamed Iranian sources claimed that Romania was discussing the possible construction of a naval base on Qeshm Island. The outcome of these discussions, however, has not been confirmed.

As early as March 1995, Silkworm missiles, Hawk missiles, and Seersucker anti-ship missiles were reportedly deployed on Qeshm, placing most of the Persian Gulf states within range of its missile capability. In mid-1995, the United States started monitoring the construction of underground facilities designed to house C-802 Saccade anti-ship missiles. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) installed surface-to-surface missile (SSM) batteries the following year.

Iran test-fired the Sayyad 1 missile in April 1999, at which time Iranian defense ministry officials acknowledged that the Sayyad 1 surface-to-air missile was a Chinese design but averred that it was partially manufactured by Iran. Reportedly, there are a number of factories used for military as well as civilian purposes on Qeshm Island.

Key Sources: Bates Gill, "Chinese Arms Exports to Iran," MERIA Journal, Vol. 2, No. 2, May 1998, 8 June 2001, <http://www.biu.ac.il>; David Fairhall, "Gulf Build-up 'Defensive' Says Iran," The Guardian (London), 24 March 1995, p. 17; Joseph S. Bermudez, "North Korea's HY-2 Silkworm Programme," Jane's Intelligence Review, 1 May 1989; accessed via Lexis-Nexis <http://www.lexis-nexis.com>; Gary Milhollin, "Testimony Before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs," 6 May 1997, <http://www.wisconsinproject.org>; "The World," Los Angeles Times, 22 March 1989, p. 2; via Lexis-Nexis <http://www.lexis-nexis.com>; "USA warns of Iranian naval buildup," Jane's Defence Weekly, 27 March 1996, p. 14; accessed via Lexis-Nexis <http://www.lexis-nexis.com>; Barbara Starr, "Iran adds new threat with cruise missile test," Jane's Defence Weekly, 7 February 1996, p. 14; accessed via Lexis-Nexis <http://www.lexis-nexis.com>; "Iran tests new AD missile," Iran Brief, 3 May 1999; James P. Dawson, "Good-Bye Saddam," <http://www.jpdawson.com>.

	Updated May 2004