❗️New intel assessment says Iran retains roughly half its launch capability, contradicting earlier US-Israeli claims of near-total destruction – The Cradle

 ❗️New intel assessment says Iran retains roughly half its launch capability, contradicting earlier US-Israeli claims of near-total destruction

A new US intelligence assessment cited by CNN claims that Iran still retains around half of its missile launcher capacity and thousands of attack drones, despite weeks of relentless US and Israeli strikes.

The findings directly contradict repeated public claims by Israeli and US officials, including President Donald Trump, who asserted that more than 80 percent of Iran’s capabilities had been destroyed and that “very few” systems remained operational.

According to the assessment, many launchers have not been eliminated but instead rendered temporarily inaccessible, often buried underground in extensive tunnel and cave networks that Iran has developed over decades. These hardened and mobile systems have allowed Iran to continue launching attacks while evading detection, undermining assertions that its launch infrastructure had been largely neutralized. Intelligence sources also noted that Iran retains a significant stockpile of missiles and that key capabilities, including coastal defense cruise missiles used to carry out operations in the Strait of Hormuz, remain largely intact.

The report further exposes discrepancies in how damage has been measured, with Israeli estimates counting only fully destroyed launchers, while US intelligence includes those hidden or trapped underground.

At the same time, although Iran’s conventional navy is alleged to have been largely destroyed, as repeated dozens of times by Trump, the report states that the naval arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps still retains roughly half of its capabilities, including hundreds or potentially thousands of small vessels and unmanned surface systems.

While US officials continue to claim that Iran’s military capacity has been decisively degraded, the intelligence assessment presents a starkly different picture, suggesting Tehran retains substantial offensive capabilities and the ability to sustain operations, calling into question the accuracy and credibility of statements made over the past month.

READ FULL ARTICLE: This article originally appeared on The Cradle

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