Donald Trump’s war in Iran has failed to break Tehran’s missile capability, US intelligence assesses, despite the president’s claim to have completely defeated the regime’s military.
Intelligence agencies have reportedly told lawmakers that Iran has regained access to most of its missile sites, launchers and underground facilities after a month of ceasefire.
Iran is believed to have restored access to all but three of its 33 missile sites stationed along the Strait of Hormuz, allowing it to project power across the vital waterway and continue testing the American blockade.
The storage and launch facilities buried underground across the country have fared as well, with some 90 per cent now “partially or fully operational”, sources told the New York Times.
A recent CIA report assessed that Iran still retains 70 per cent of its prewar stockpiles of missiles and could endure another three to four months of US blockade.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, responded to the report, saying stockpiles had swollen to 120 per cent of their prewar levels. His claim could not be independently verified.
The evidence appears to contradict Trump’s public assessments that Iran has been “defeated” by 10 weeks of war.
President Trump accused the US media of “virtual treason” for reporting on the claims.
“When the Fake News says that the Iranian enemy is doing well, Militarily, against us, it’s virtual TREASON in that it is such a false, and even preposterous, statement,” the US president wrote on Truth Social Tuesday.
“They are aiding and abetting the enemy! All it does is give Iran false hope when none should exist. These are American cowards that are rooting against our Country,” he wrote.
“Iran had 159 ships in their Navy — Every single ship is now resting at the bottom of the sea. They have no Navy, their Air Force is gone, all Technology is gone, their ‘leaders’ are no longer with us, and the Country is an Economic Disaster.”
Also on Tuesday, the Pentagon put the cost of the war so far at $29bn, an increase of $4bn from an estimate provided late last month. An official told lawmakers the new cost included updated repair and replacement of equipment and operational costs.
Trump said that Americans’ financial struggles did not influence his thinking on the Iran war.
Asked by a reporter to what extent Americans’ financial situations were motivating him to strike a deal, Trump said: “Not even a little bit.”
“The only thing that matters, when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon," Trump said before departing the White House for a trip to China.
“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all. That's the only thing that motivates me."
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