“Bombs will fall Everywhere”: The American, Israeli and Iranian Weapons Being Deployed in Middle East
The United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on Saturday morning, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well as several senior regime figures and striking multiple sites across the country. Iran retaliated by firing at targets across the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and other Gulf states. The conflict is ongoing despite no declaration of war by the US Congress. US President Donald Trump initially called for regime change in Iran but has since delivered a mixed message about the aims of “Operation Epic Fury”.
Israel has said it dropped more than 2,000 bombs in the first 30 hours of the war. While the US claims to have struck over 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours, with President Trump stating that “bombs will fall everywhere”. In response, Iran is reported to have launched at least 390 missiles and 830 drones in the first two days.
Bellingcat has been monitoring strikes across the region, including those that caused civilian harm, and identified a wide variety of weapons have been used so far, including missiles and drones.
US-Made Weapons and Tomahawks Launched
The US reported that some of the first weapons they launched were Tomahawk missiles. Footage from the US McFaul also showed Tomahawks being launched.
There is also reporting that a new variant of the Tomahawk was used in these strikes.
Imagery of many other different munitions used by the US, Israel and Iran have appeared on social media.
This article covers some of the munitions Bellingcat has seen imagery of as the war enters its fourth day.
Many of the weapons used so far have also been deployed in other recent US conflicts, including the 12-day Israel-Iran war, and US strikes in Yemen and Venezuela.
The US is the major supplier of arms to allies in the region, including for Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, and Jordan.
On Sunday, the US Department Of Defence (DOD) published photos showing weapons being prepared for loading on aircrafts, including the MK-80 series of bombs like MK-82 500-pound bombs, and BLU-109 2,000-pound ‘bunker busters’ equipped with Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bomb guidance kits.
The DOD has also released several photos showing the C variants of the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW). As documented by the Open Source Munitions Portal, this weapon has been used recently by the US in Yemen and Venezuela.
The DOD also released a slideshow showing images from the first 24 hours of the war, including an image showing the first combat use of the Precision Strike Missile. The DOD further released a list of some equipment used, including the THAAD ballistic missile defense system.
Many of the weapons deployed by the US have also been used by Israel. This includes the MK-80 series of bombs, BLU-109 bombs and Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bomb guidance kits.
Israel also produces some of its own munitions, which they released video or photos of since the start of the conflict, including MK-83 1,000-pound bombs equipped with Israeli SPICE-1000 bomb guidance kits.
Israel also produces RAMPAGE missiles, visible in the image below.
On Sunday, the DOD said they had used the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) one-way attack drones in strikes. The LUCAS drone is a US copy of the Iranian Shahed one-way attack drone.
A video of a crashed LUCAS drone has subsequently appeared online, reportedly in Iraq.
While Bellingcat could not geolocate this video, then men seen in the footage can be heard speaking Arabic while US CENTCOM has said that this is the first time they have used this drone in combat.
Local Iraqi residents are taking the newly deployed, nearly intact American LUCAS drone for themselves. pic.twitter.com/fbx411iAYU
— Special Kherson Cat (@bayraktar_1love) March 2, 2026
A video shows a LUCAS drone that allegedly crashed in Iraq.
Iranian Attacks
Iran has retaliated by firing one-way attack drones, including Shahed variants, and missiles at Israel, and US-bases in various countries across the region, including UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq.
Iranian Shahed drones have hit civilian buildings in the Gulf, as well as US military bases.
Palm Jumeirah in Dubai was attacked by Shahed kamikaze drones.
— Special Kherson Cat (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) 28 February 2026 at 15:37
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A Shahed drone crashes into a hotel in Dubai on Feb. 28.
In Bahrain, a Shahed was seen crashing into a residential building on Feb. 28.
Virtually a first person view of the Iranian drone hitting the high-rise building in Manamah, Bahrain.
— (((Tendar))) (@tendar.bsky.social) 28 February 2026 at 18:57
[image or embed]
A Feb. 28. video shows a Shahed drone hitting a residential tower in Bahrain.
Many missiles have a booster, a rocket motor that detaches from the missile after it is expended. These boosters fall to the ground under the flight path of the missile.
Bellingcat verified that Iranian missile boosters have fallen in nearby countries caught in the crossfire, including Qatar and Jordan (see below post geolocated to Al-Hashmi St. in Irbid, Jordan), while some Israeli boosters have reportedly fallen in Iraq.
اهلنا في اربد الله يحميكم pic.twitter.com/LvHWgicE4F
— فواز الذياب (@FawazElziyab) February 28, 2026
A Feb. 28. post shows an Iranian ballistic missile booster that fell on Al-Hashmi St. in Irbid, Jordan.
Iranian Missiles Intercepted
The US and Israel, as well as several Gulf countries, have fired missiles, intended to destroy Iranian missiles or drones in the air before they reach their targets. Many Iranian weapons have been intercepted, but others have successfully hit, including in a strike on a US command post in Kuwait, killing six US troops.
Most ballistic missile interceptors are “hit-to-kill” where they are designed to destroy missiles by the impact. These interceptors have their own components that fall to the ground, as well as the debris from interceptions.
Remnants of Patriot Interceptor missiles, which are operated by the US and several Gulf countries, have been seen, and countries including the UAE have reported they have intercepted missiles. The UAE has claimed that 165 missiles and 541 drones were fired at the country, most were intercepted.
A Sea of Unverified Images and Misidentification of Munitions
Many close-up images of munition debris have been posted on social media over recent days which are difficult to geolocate. While we have not been able to verify the location of these munitions, we used reverse image search tools to verify they had not been posted online prior to the current conflict. The munition remnants are also consistent with those used by the US, Israel and Iran. But as we cannot geolocate or chronolocate them yet, we cannot fully verify them. Many of these images have been posted with false claims about the object and who fired it.
Despite Bellingcat being unable to fully verify them, we are including a selection of them with accurate identifications, due to the likelihood that more images of these same objects will continue to appear online as the war continues.
One example of incorrectly identified munitions, is the below picture of an aircraft’s external fuel tank, or drop tank that was posted on Telegram on March 1 alongside the claim that it is an Israeli missile.
A Mar. 1. image shows a drop tank from an Israeli jet reportedly found in Anbar, Iraq. Source: NAYA.
Drop tanks are used on jets to extend the range and are jettisoned after use, resulting in these tanks falling to the ground. These tanks have been mistaken for missile parts in previous conflicts.
Despite Iran’s prevalent use of missiles, not all missile boosters are Iranian. On February 28 missile boosters from Israeli air-launched ballistic missiles were reportedly found just east of Tikrit, Iraq. The below image shows the booster from Israel’s Blue Sparrow series, and can be matched to images previously identified and posted on the likes of the Open Source Munitions Portal.
A short while ago, a missile landed near Duraji village in the Dauda area of the Khurmatu district.#Isreal #Iran pic.twitter.com/qzZLNUgekD
— Sarwan Wllatzheri (@SarwanBarzani_) February 28, 2026
A Feb. 28. post shows an Israeli Blue Sparrow series missile booster, reportedly found in Duraji, Iraq.
Additionally, unexploded WDU-36/B warheads from Tomahawk missiles were reportedly found –, one in Kirkuk, Iraq and one found near Jablah, Syria. Tomahawk warheads and other remnants are frequently misidentified, often as drones.
These titanium cased warheads comprise a small part of the much larger Tomahawk missile, and have been found intact in numerous countries when the warhead has failed to explode, as seen in images shared on the Open Source Munitions Portal.
Unexploded Tomahawk warheads from strikes in other conflicts have also been identified by the Open Source Munitions Portal .
Remnants of an Israeli Arrow 2 interceptor missile were posted online, falsely identified as an Iranian missile, and were allegedly found in eastern Syria. These images could again be matched to those found from previous conflicts on the Open Source Munitions Portal.
An Iranian missile fell in Al-Shoula area, south of DeirEzzor eastern Syria!. pic.twitter.com/TsWVuda2nf
— Omar Abu Layla (@OALD24) March 1, 2026
A Israeli Arrow 2 interceptor missile falsely identified as as an Iranian missile in a post on X.
An Ancient US Munition Used by Iran
One photo of a remnant reportedly found in Ahvaz, Iran, included a false claim that it was a US ATACMS missile. Bellingcat was able to confirm the image does not match ATACMS construction by comparing it to imagery of that munition. We have as yet been unable to confirm if it was indeed located in Ahvaz, Iran – although we were able to identify the munition.
U.S. ATACMS tactical ballistic missile remains found in Ahvaz, Iran.@Osinttechnical pic.twitter.com/plytSUI4w6
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 1, 2026
An actuator section of a MIM-23 HAWK missile, falsely identified by the post above as an ATACMS missile.
The markings on the remnant include an “FSN” or federal stock number, that can be looked up to identify the item. The FSN was replaced by the national stock number (NSN) in 1974, meaning this missile was produced prior to 1974.
Bellingcat looked up the FSN/NSN (1410002343266) which corresponds with the US manufactured MIM-23B HAWK, an air defence missile.
There are many other US, Israeli and Iranian munitions that may have been used in the current conflict, but images have not yet appeared on social media.
With fresh strikes carried out overnight/ early Tuesday and President Trump saying that “likely more” US troops will die, the conflict continues to escalate and shows no sign of ceasing in the days ahead. And despite the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei the Iranian regime has vowed revenge and continued strikes against Israel, the US and their Gulf allies.
Bellingcat’s Carlos Gonzales, Jake Godin and Felix Matteo Lommerse contributed research to this article. Anisa Shabir from Bellingcat’s Volunteer Community also contributed to this piece.
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