Direct proof of use
The Toophan anti-tank guided missile is documented in the 2014 Yemen Civil War through a battlefield-recovered missile and interdicted transfer evidence. A U.S. Defense Department report on the Iranian Materiel Display stated that an Iranian-made Toophan was obtained by Saudi Arabia on the battlefield and that officials said Houthis in Yemen used the missile against vehicles and infrastructure.
CSIS later treated the same weapon family as part of the Houthi anti-tank missile record. Its Yemen missile-war report identified the Toophan as Iran's domestically produced BGM-71 TOW variant, described an Iranian Toophan found in Yemen and displayed by the U.S. Defense Department, and recorded a Saudi-seized Toophan ATGM as evidence of military support to the Houthis.
Sources: DoD Iranian Weapons Display, The Missile War in Yemen
Timeline
In September 2015, Arab coalition ships intercepted a stateless vessel carrying Toophan/TOW anti-tank guided missiles and related launch equipment in an arms shipment associated with Yemen. ARES reported the same incident as a September 26 interdiction 150 miles off Salalah, near the Yemen border, and identified visible TOW missile tubes, tripods, and associated fire-control equipment in released imagery.
By December 2017, U.S. officials were publicly displaying a battlefield-recovered Iranian-made Toophan as evidence from the Yemen conflict. CSIS's 2020 report added this display to a broader record of Houthi anti-tank guided missile use, noting that Houthi ATGM videos went back to August 2015 and that such weapons helped Houthi forces resist pro-Hadi and coalition ground forces.
Sources: The Missile War in Yemen, ARES September 2015 Dhow Interdiction, DoD Iranian Weapons Display
Narrative
The supported theater role is Houthi-aligned anti-armor and direct-fire use, with a parallel transfer record showing Iranian-origin or Iran-linked supply. DoD officials described the Toophan as a high-precision direct-fire weapon and said Houthi forces used it against vehicles and infrastructure. CSIS placed Toophan/TOW systems within a wider Houthi anti-tank missile arsenal that had become more lethal through continued practice and the acquisition of more advanced ATGMs.
The evidence should be separated by type. The Saudi battlefield recovery and U.S. display support operational use by Houthi forces in Yemen. The September 2015 dhow case supports a supply and interdiction channel for Toophan/TOW missiles and launch equipment, but it is not itself a dated firing incident. Public sources do not provide a complete launch log, unit attribution, or a confirmed Toophan variant for each attack.
Sources: DoD Iranian Weapons Display, The Missile War in Yemen, ARES September 2015 Dhow Interdiction
