Direct proof of use
Qiam-family missiles are documented in the 2011 Syrian Civil War through Iranian cross-border strikes against Islamic State targets in eastern Syria. CSIS Missile Threat says the Qiam-1 may have seen its first operational use in the June 18, 2017 strike against Islamic State militants in the Deir ez-Zor region, but it treats that identification as a later assessment because contemporary reports differed between Shahab-3 and Qiam-1 attribution.
The stronger Syria-specific Qiam attribution is the October 1, 2018 strike. CSIS reports that Iran fired up to two Qiam-2 missiles against Islamic State targets in Al Bukamal, while IISS says an upgraded Qiam was among the six ballistic missiles fired from Kermanshah province toward Al Bukamal. Washington Institute analysis of the same strike identifies Zolfaghar and Qiam missiles and notes reports that the Qiam missiles were an improved version.
Sources: CSIS Qiam-1 Missile Threat, IISS Open-Source Missile Analysis, Washington Institute Second Syria Strike
Timeline
On June 18, 2017, Iran launched a ballistic-missile strike toward Islamic State targets in eastern Deir ez-Zor after the June 7 Islamic State attacks in Tehran. USIP's Iran Primer describes the salvo as mainly Zolfaghar missiles and says it may also have included one Qiam-1; CSIS records the same event as possible first operational use but flags uncertainty over whether the missile was identified at the time as Shahab-3 or Qiam-1.
On October 1, 2018, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched six surface-to-surface missiles across Iraq toward Islamic State-linked targets in the Abu Kamal, Al Bukamal, and Hajin area. Washington Institute reporting attributes the strike package to Zolfaghar and Qiam missiles, IISS identifies upgraded Qiam use in that strike, and USIP's Iran Primer says Iranian media reported Zolfaghars and up to two Qiam-1s.
Sources: Iran Primer Missile Timeline, CSIS Qiam-1 Missile Threat, IISS Open-Source Missile Analysis, Washington Institute Second Syria Strike
Battlefield role
The Qiam-family role in Syria was long-range strike by Iran, an allied state actor on the Syrian government-and-allies side of the catalog's conflict model. The documented targets were Islamic State positions or infrastructure in eastern Syria rather than routine Syrian Arab Army battlefield fires.
The public evidence separates weapon possession from use. Iran possessed and displayed Qiam missiles before the Syrian events, but the conflict-use record rests on the two IRGC cross-border strike episodes. The June 2017 entry remains a caveated Qiam-1 attribution; the October 2018 Al Bukamal strike is supported by multiple defense-analysis sources that identify Qiam or upgraded Qiam missiles alongside Zolfaghar missiles.
Sources: Iran Primer Missile Timeline, CSIS Qiam-1 Missile Threat, IISS Open-Source Missile Analysis, Washington Institute Cross-Border Strikes
