US intelligence says Iran retains thousands of missiles despite war damage, contradicting claims of near-total destruction, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Key Takeaways
- WSJ reports Iran still holds thousands of ballistic missiles and recoverable launchers.
- Intelligence assessments contradict Pentagon claims of “functional destruction.”
- Iran’s ability to recover quickly raises concerns about post-ceasefire balance.
Intelligence Contradicts Official Narrative
Iran retains a significant missile capability despite weeks of US and Israeli strikes, according to American intelligence assessments cited by the Wall Street Journal on Friday.
US officials familiar with the intelligence reportedly said that Iran still possesses “thousands of medium- and short-range ballistic missiles that could be pulled out of hiding or retrieved from underground sites.”
The report directly challenges statements by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said Iran’s missile program is “functionally destroyed” and its systems “depleted and decimated and almost completely ineffective.”
Instead, intelligence assessments indicate that while Iran’s capabilities have been reduced, they remain operational and recoverable.
A central finding in the WSJ report is Iran’s reliance on underground infrastructure.
US officials said more than half of Iran’s missile launchers have been “destroyed, damaged or trapped underground,” but many of these systems can be repaired or excavated.
Iran retains the ability to retrieve launchers from underground complexes and return them to use, raising concerns among US officials that Tehran could use the ceasefire period to “reconstitute some of its missile arsenal.”
Reduced Arsenal, Sustained Capability
Although Iran’s missile stockpile has been reduced—roughly halved during the war, according to the report—it remains substantial.
Israeli officials cited in the WSJ report estimate that Iran still holds more than 1,000 medium-range missiles from a pre-war stockpile of approximately 2,500.
Iran has continued launching missiles throughout the conflict, maintaining a rate of 10 to 15 missiles per day for much of the war.
Drone capabilities have been more heavily degraded. US officials claim Iran now has well under 50 percent of its initial drone inventory, though they warn that Tehran could replenish these systems through external partners, including Russia.
Limits of Airpower
The WSJ report highlights structural limitations in the US-Israeli campaign.
Unlike past wars, operations against Iran’s missile systems have been conducted entirely from the air, without ground deployments to locate and destroy mobile launchers.
Iran’s use of deeply buried facilities has complicated these efforts. Israeli officials said airstrikes focused on sealing launch tunnels, but “the bases themselves proved hard to destroy.”
This has allowed Iran to preserve a portion of its missile infrastructure despite sustained bombardment.
Strategic Reality
Analysts cited in the report emphasize Iran’s adaptability.
Kenneth Pollack said: “The Iranians have shown a remarkable ability to innovate and reconstitute their forces quickly.”
“They are a much more formidable opponent than most Middle East militaries other than the Israelis,” he added.
For his part, Jon Alterman summarized the broader implication: “One of the huge takeaways of this is that Iran, with a tiny fraction of its earlier capability, can still be the dominant actor controlling peace and security in the Gulf.”
“They have this great advantage that every day they don’t lose, they win, and every day we don’t win, we lose,” Alterman also said.
(PC, Wall Street Journal)
Hegseth is an idiot. You just want to punch that smug face inside-out. Every US citizen needs to mock him, make memes of the moron all day, everyday. What a piece of sh!t. and he’s so fake. Dondolf needs to jail him for lying about key intelligence and details we deserve to know. Better yet, send him to Iran. Let them decide his fate.