Iran launched the Sejjil ballistic missile for the first time as part of a retaliatory strike following bombing attacks carried out by the United States and Israel against the country.

The launch of the Sejjil missile was part of the 54th wave of attacks in the "True Promise Operation," targeting assets belonging to Israel and the United States in the Middle East.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced the use of the missile, which is often referred to as the “Ababil Bird Weapon,” in a statement cited by Mehr.

The 54th wave of attacks targeted air command centers, military factories, and Israeli forces.

Sejjil is a medium-range ballistic missile with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers. The missile measures approximately 18 meters in length, has a diameter of 1.25 meters, weighs about 23 tons, and is capable of carrying an explosive payload ranging from 500 to 1,000 kilograms.

The weapon is also nicknamed the “dancing missile” because of its ability to maneuver at high altitudes to evade anti-missile defense systems such as Iron Dome. Using solid fuel, the Sejjil can also be prepared and launched much faster than the Shahab missile, which uses a liquid fuel system.

According to CSIS, Iran began designing the Sejjil missile in the early 1990s and conducted its first launch in 2008. At that time, the missile could only reach a distance of about 800 kilometers. In May 2009, Iran was reported to have developed the navigation capability of the Sejjil.

Since 2009, Iran has conducted four test launches of the Sejjil missile. During its most recent flight test, the missile was reportedly able to travel as far as 1,900 kilometers across the Indian Ocean.

Sejjil is a two-stage missile, meaning it uses two rocket systems both during launch and while traveling toward its target. Because of this, analysts believe that the technology used in the Sejjil could potentially be developed into an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).