Donald Trump’s war in Iran has failed to break Tehran’s missile capability despite the president’s claim to have completely defeated the regime’s military, sources say.
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.
A senior Nato source in Europe told The Independent that they estimate Iran still has 60 per cent of its missile capability in tact after ten weeks of war, at a reported cost of $29bn to the United States.
“Everybody knows that Trump and Hegseth are talking nonsense when they make claims to have destroyed Iran militarily,” the source said.
“The missiles are largely intact and the top people who were negotiating with the US before the US-Israeli attacks are now dead so hardliners are in charge.
“Meanwhile there has been no uprising because the IRGC is intact and used rifles to oppress their people, not missiles anyway.”
Trump launched a scathing attack on US media this week after the New York Times reported that some 90 per cent of Iran’s underground storage and launch facilities nationwide were still “partially or fully operational”.
“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.
The reports followed a recent CIA assessment 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.
A Nato source told The Independent that they also assess Iran’s nuclear facilities still exist underground and can likely be rebuilt.
“Their entrances have been closed but they’re still there underground,” the source said.
The evidence appears to contradict Trump’s public assessments that Iran has been thoroughly “defeated” by the US military.
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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