The New York Times has revealed that classified US intelligence assessments, prepared earlier this month, indicate Iran has regained access to most of its missile sites, launch pads, and underground facilities directly contradicting public statements by the Trump administration regarding the destruction of Iran’s military capabilities.
According to individuals familiar with the assessments, Iran has restored operational access to 30 of the 33 missile sites along the strategic Strait of Hormuz, potentially posing a renewed threat to U.S. warships and oil tankers transiting the crucial waterway.
The assessments suggest that Iranian forces are now able depending on the extent of damage at each location—to use mobile launch platforms within those sites to move missiles to other positions. In some cases, missiles can be launched directly from the facilities’ own launch pads. Only three sites along the strait remain completely inaccessible, the intelligence review found.
Further, the assessments indicate that Iran still retains approximately 70% of its mobile missile launchers nationwide, alongside roughly 70% of its pre-war missile arsenal. This inventory includes ballistic missiles capable of targeting other countries in the region, as well as a smaller number of cruise missiles designed for short-range strikes against land and sea targets.
Military intelligence agencies, drawing on multiple sources including satellite imagery and other surveillance technologies, reported that Iran has regained access to about 90% of its underground missile storage and launch facilities across the country. These sites are now assessed to be “partially or fully operational.”
These findings undermine months of public pronouncements by former President Donald Trump and then-Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had repeatedly claimed that the Iranian military had been “destroyed” and no longer posed a threat.
In this context, Iranian Defense Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Reza Talaei reiterated that any threat or aggression against his country would be met with an immediate and regrettable response, adding that “Iran has proven its ability to defend its people both diplomatically and militarily.”
The revelations come amid a stalemate in Iranian-American negotiations brokered by Pakistan, following Trump’s rejection of Iran’s latest diplomatic response and his continued blockade of Iranian ports.
Source: New York Times