What are Tomahawk missiles? US enters Israel-Iran war with the same weapon used in 2017 strikes against Syria

Israel-Iran conflict: In what Donald Trump called the ‘complete obliteration’ of Iran's Fordow nuclear site, the US entered the Israel-Iran conflict on Saturday, launching six massive 30,000-pound 'bunker buster' bombs and used 30 Tomahawk missiles, from US submarines 400 miles away to strike Iran's three main nuclear sites.

Tomahawk missiles were also used by the US when Donald Trump had ordered military strikes against Syria in 2017, in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of civilians, including children, reported the CNN.

What are Tomahawk missiles?

First used during Operation Dust Storm in the 1991 Gulf War, Tomahawk missiles are intermediate-range cruise missiles – meaning they have a range of around 800 miles (1,250 kilometers) to 1500 miles (2,500 kilometers).

Tomahawk missiles are fired from sea. The missiles travel relatively low to the ground, and are guided by an advanced navigation system, because of which US could use them to attack Iran's nuclear sites from submarines located 400 miles away, on Sunday, June 22.

What sets Tomahawk missiles apart?

Tomahawk missiles are designed to follow a non-linear path, so they cannot be shot down.

“What’s important about the Tomahawks is that they just don’t necessarily go from point A to point B in a straight line. They will take kind of a circumnavigation route so they can’t be shot down,” retired US Army Major General James “Spider” Marks had told CNN during an interview in 2017.

Tomahawk missiles cost

Tomahawk missiles reportedly costs about $2 million each and measures 18.3 feet long, weighs 3,200 pounds (4,400 with booster).

The missile is also designed to carry a 1,000-pound conventional warhead or cluster munitions.

Iran condemns US strikes

Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday condemned the United States' strikes on three of its nuclear sites, describing the operation as "savage military aggression" against its "peaceful nuclear facilities."

“The Islamic Republic holds the warmongering and lawless #USA government fully responsible for the extremely dangerous consequences of this grave crime,” stated the Foreign Ministry in its statement, reported Fox News.

As per Fox News, Iran's statement accuses the US of conducting the strikes in collusion with "the genocidal Zionist regime," which is Israel.