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Despite US President Donald Trump touting of 'decimating' Iran's missile capabilities in the recent conflict in West Asia, a recent US intelligence assessment gives a different picture to the claims made by the US President, stating that the Islamic Republic has restored operational access to 30 of the 33 missile sites that it currently maintains along the strategic Strait of Hormuz, The New York Times reported.
According to The New York Times, citing senior US officials' classified assessments on the matter, around 90 per cent of Iran's underground missile facilities are now considered "partially or fully operational". The intelligence assessments suggest that Iran has retained a substantial portion of its missile infrastructure and military capabilities despite months of claims by the Trump administration that Tehran has lost most of its firepower during the joint US-Israel strikes. The classified assessments, prepared earlier this month and reviewed by US policymakers, indicate that Iran still possesses nearly 70 per cent of its mobile missile launchers and roughly 70 per cent of its pre-war missile stockpile, including ballistic and cruise missiles, The New York Times reported. The assessments reportedly found that only three of Iran's 33 missile facilities along the Strait of Hormuz remain completely inaccessible, while the remaining sites have regained varying degrees of operational access, allowing Iran to potentially deploy mobile launchers or launch missiles directly from existing infrastructure. The report also stated that US military intelligence agencies, citing satellite imagery and surveillance data, assessed that Iran has regained access to nearly 90 per cent of its underground missile storage and launch facilities across the country, The New York Times reported. These findings appear to contradict repeated public statements made by Trump and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who had asserted that Iran's military had been "crushed" and rendered ineffective following the joint US-Israel military campaign, Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28. Last week, The Washington Post, citing a US official, reported that the Islamic Republic had retained nearly 75 per cent of its pre-war mobile missile launcher inventory and around 70 per cent of its missile stockpile, further noting that Tehran has managed to regain access to almost all of its underground missile storage facilities, repair damaged missiles, and complete the assembly of several missiles that were close to production before the conflict began, as indicated in an intelligence assessments. According to The New York Times, the intelligence assessments also highlight concerns within US defence circles over depleted American munitions stockpiles following the conflict. The U.S. military used more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles, over 1,300 Patriot interceptor missiles, and around 1,100 long-range stealth cruise missiles during the war with Iran, The New York Times reported, adding that replenishing those stockpiles could take years, raising concerns among US allies and military planners amid ongoing tensions in the region and the fragile ceasefire currently in place. (ANI)
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