The point was NOT to discuss anti ship missiles, but I only used the example of sinking a destroyer to describe the explosive power of the payload size. The point was to leave out missiles that were intended only for smaller targets like a tanks or truck.
If we attacked Iran and they retaliated, you can bet they would target our ships with all missiles they had, including ground attack missiles.
Attacking a ship with a ground attack ballistic missile would be the ultimate exercise in futility. You might as well try to shoot a fly in flight from across the room with a pistol. And even if you include all of their ground attack missiles, only by including such basic missiles like their version of the Katyusha would you come anywhere even close to "tens of thousands:".
And the Katyusha is literally the most basic-simple-stupid missile still in use. Quite literally they are not much more difficult to make then a Sten gun, anybody with a decent machine shop can make one. The Soviets made and used them by the millions in WWII, they are still popular today because they are easy to build and make a great terror weapon.
And no, discussing things like fuel tanks being different to hit from the warhead on a SCUD is irrelevant, because it is an idiotic claim. The correct term is "missile body", although the fuel tank is included in it. And I do not care who makes it, all SCUD missiles (and those developed from them) are a combined warhead and body system.
And no, they do not have "thousands of launchers". In fact, the missile is actually not all that hard to make, it is the launcher and associated hardware that is the real challenge. This is why one of their main air defense systems is the 1950's era HAWK system (when they ran out of air to air missiles for their F-14s they even modified the HAWK to be air launched using the system in the Tomcat). And while they still have quite a few of them from when they were allies of the US, all they have been doing is upgrading those they already have and making new missiles to replace the old ones. And all of their ballistic and other ground based missiles still operate off of the original TELs that they bought from Russia and China.
In fact, even without sanctions both Russia and China had pretty much cut off selling systems to Iran because of their love of simply buying some launchers and missiles, then copying the missiles instead of buying new ones from them. For 20 years Iran was trying to buy TELs from anybody they could buy them from. That is the one piece that they have yet been able to make domestically for anything other than their most basic artillery rockets.
And yes, the actual term is TEL, I have just been saying "launcher" because that is what most people know and understand. The main thing that has been "locking" Iranian missile development has not been their ability to create a better rocket, it has been in making missiles that can operate with the launching equipment they already possess. This is why so many of their systems still literally use 1950's era launchers.
And now to get a bit technical. The BMOAs of Iran are very well known, and under almost constant observation. Much like the Soviets of the Cold War, whenever Iran tests a new missile system the US knows about it almost immediately. We know where they set up their TELs for shows of force, we even have the vast majority of them assigned specific names to signify each individual one.
BTW, TEL is "Transporter-Erector-Launcher", and BMOA is "Ballistic Missile Operating Area". There are almost no secrets in the Iranian missile sector. Like China, they boast of their systems, praise them to the stars, and love to show off their equipment, if they have even tested it or not. Which has led to some interesting things, like when they photoshopped a photo claiming to have been a "perfect test launch".
And finally, here is a bit about my own background. I spent over 5 years in Missile Defense, including spending over a year sitting in the desert watching Iran from across the Gulf. For me, one of the most interesting things about discussions like this is that I actually have to resort to mining data I find from online sources because I actually can not discuss things I "know", but things I can gather from public sources because of security.
But trust me, I can go on for hours about things like this. I spent a year literally watching Iranian capabilities and locations, even knowing when they moved their systems around and which ones were a threat that particular week.
My photo here? Taken at the White Sands Missile Range, a month or so before I deployed to that area of the world. On other forums I actually use another photo I had taken there, of me sitting on a copy of the Fat Man bomb. So you see, I do actually know and understand these things, because that was my job for several years. And even though I now have another job in the military, I still track things like that because I find them very interesting. Plus a bit of "know your enemy", because if a conflict was to break out with Iran again, I am positive missiles will be their key weapon.