Originally Posted by
Willard Whyte
Well, they are developing Meshkat, and even if they struggled during sanctions that may accelerate now they are being lifted 'All' they have to do is copy the dozen ~2,500 km range Kh-55s they got from Ukraine.
Earlier this year Iran revealed a "2,000 km" ground launched cruise missile named Soumar.
Nuclear Threat Initiative: Iran
So assuming they've managed to be able to mass-produce the trick turbofan that is the key to it and assuming they can access GLONASS or equivalent for targeting they can launch from say 1000km stand-off. Bunch of LR interceptors (back to Tonka F3 and/or F14+AIM54) please and weapons free on the bombers.
More to the point, 2000+km at 400kts gives you the best part of three hours flight time to either intercept the inbounds (not easy@300ft but do-able) and more importantly relocate the leadership (those that you really want to deter).
Deterrence is about certainty, the certainty that you can't stop a significant proportion of what will be coming your way (personally) if you don't behave yourself. For a variety of reasons, a cruise-based deterrent can never give you that at an affordable scale.