Iran’s nuclear potential still intact, US intelligence assessment says
US intelligence (photo: Getty Images)
Iran has rapid access to a significant number of its own missile facilities, indicating Tehran's strength despite US President Donald Trump's claims about its weakening, according to a US intelligence analysis for the NYT.
Specifically, Iran has operational access to a significant portion of its missile facilities along the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that its military remains much stronger than White House head Donald Trump has asserted.
"Most alarming to some senior officials is evidence that Iran has restored operational access to 30 of the 33 missile sites it maintains along the Strait of Hormuz, which could threaten American warships and oil tankers transiting the narrow waterway," the article says.
Military intelligence services also reported, based on information from several data collection streams including satellite imagery and other surveillance technologies, that Iran has restored access to approximately 90 percent of its underground storage facilities and missile launchers across the country, which are now assessed as partially or fully functional.
What preceded this
For reference, on March 9, ten days after the start of the war, Trump stated that Iran's missiles are almost completely destroyed and that the country has nothing left in a military sense.
At the same time, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said at a press conference that Operation Epic Fury had destroyed Iran's armed forces and rendered them incapable of combat operations for many years.
Overall, Trump repeatedly reiterated that the US had defeated Iran and achieved its military goals of weakening the opponent's army. The US president also boasted of reducing Iran's nuclear capabilities, which was the main goal of the operation.
The intelligence data describing the remnants of Iran's military potential is dated less than a month after that press conference.
