Direct proof of use
Shahed-136 use in the 2025 Israel-Iran Conflict is documented by model-specific reporting on Iran's June 2025 retaliatory drone salvos. CSIS Missile Threat identifies the Shahed-136 as an Iranian one-way attack UAV and states that Iran used Shahed-136 UAVs on pre-programmed paths in the Operation True Promise strike series to overwhelm air defenses.
Al Habtoor Research Centre gives a conflict-specific June 13-14 sequence: after Israeli strikes on Iran, Tehran launched more than one hundred UAVs, primarily Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 variants, through Iraqi and Syrian airspace. Its operational section identifies the Shahed-136 as the centerpiece of the drone-saturation approach, describing it as a low-speed, low-altitude, long-range suicide drone used before the larger ballistic-missile salvos.
Sources: CSIS Missile Threat Shahed-131 and -136, Al Habtoor Erosion of Iranian Deterrence
Timeline
The documented Shahed-136 role begins with Iran's opening UAV response on June 13, 2025. Al Habtoor reports that Iran launched more than one hundred UAVs on the same day as Israel's opening strikes, primarily Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 variants, and that most were intercepted before reaching Israeli territory.
On June 21, the Jerusalem Post reported that an Iranian Shahed-136 crashed into a two-storey building in Beit She'an in northern Israel, with no casualties or injuries reported by Magen David Adom. The same report said Iran had launched about 1,100 drones since the beginning of the war, while Israeli defenses intercepted hundreds and many more fell en route.
On June 23, FDD's Long War Journal summarized continuing Iranian drone and missile attacks and reported that one drone, identified in linked Israeli reporting as a Shahed-136, impacted Beit She'an on June 21. The same article described IDF electronic-warfare, air, naval, and interceptor efforts against the wider Iranian drone campaign.
Sources: Al Habtoor Erosion of Iranian Deterrence, Jerusalem Post Beit Shean Shahed-136, Long War Journal Drone Defense June 2025
Role in the conflict
Iran used the Shahed-136 as a long-range one-way attack UAV rather than merely possessing or transferring it. The June 2025 reporting describes Iranian launches toward Israel from long range, with the drones routed through regional airspace and engaged by Israeli, Jordanian, Saudi, and U.S.-supported defenses.
The Shahed-136 role was tied to saturation and air-defense strain. Al Habtoor describes the Shahed-136-centered drone wave as a way to degrade early warning and interception before ballistic-missile salvos, while CSIS describes Shahed-136 UAVs as part of pre-programmed strike paths intended to overwhelm defenses. JINSA's later air-defense assessment gives the wider scale of that campaign, reporting that Iran launched 1,084 drones during the June 13-24 war.
Public evidence is stronger for the overall Shahed-136 role and the Beit She'an impact than for model identification in every drone incident. Open Source Munitions Portal provides technical identification context for the larger Shahed-136, including its larger dimensions, typical warhead position, and MD550 engine family; most June 2025 incident reporting still grouped many Iranian launches as generic drones or UAVs.
Sources: Al Habtoor Erosion of Iranian Deterrence, CSIS Missile Threat Shahed-131 and -136, Jerusalem Post Beit Shean Shahed-136, JINSA Shielded by Fire, OSMP Shahed-131 and -136 Visual Guide
