President Donald Trump lashed out in a social media post after a report revealed that the Iranian government has retained much of its missile capabilities.
Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have repeatedly claimed that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and was “no longer” a threat.
“Iran is getting decimated. They have no navy. They have no air force. They have no anti-aircraft. They have no radar. They have no leaders,” Trump said on May 1. On April 8, Hegseth said that Operation Epic Fury, which the U.S. launched in conjunction with Israel on February 28, had “decimated Iran’s military and rendered it combat-ineffective for years to come.”
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that despite the White House’s public statements, classified assessments conducted earlier this month reveal that Iran has regained access to most of its missile sites, as well as its missile launchers and underground facilities.
According to the assessments, Iran has restored access to 30 of its 33 missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz, as well as 70 percent of its missile launchers throughout the country and 70 percent of its missile stockpile. Intelligence reports also reveal that the country has regained access to roughly 90 percent of its underground missile storage and launch facilities, which are “partially or fully operational.”
Trump, apparently incensed by the Times’ report, lashed out in a Truth Social post on Tuesday afternoon.
“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 79-year-old wrote.
“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.”
“Iran had 159 ships in their Navy — Every single ship is now resting at the bottom of the sea,” he continued. “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.”
“Only Losers, Ingrates, and Fools are able to make a case against America!”
Multiple intelligence assessments that contradict the White House’s public messaging have been shared with the press since Trump’s war with Iran began.
A report from early April found that half of Iran’s missile launchers were intact and the country still had access to thousands of attack drones. One source familiar with the intelligence told CNN at the time, “They are still very much poised to wreak absolute havoc throughout the entire region.”
The Wall Street Journal confirmed that intelligence a week later, reporting that Iran has maintained access to thousands of ballistic missiles that could be dug up from underground storage sites.
The reports are at odds with claims made by Hegseth in which he said that Iran’s “missile program is functionally destroyed, launchers, production facilities, and existing stockpiles depleted and decimated and almost completely ineffective.” At the same press conference, he also claimed that “Iran’s air force has been wiped out.”
Further undercutting the administration’s claims was a CIA analysis shared with policymakers earlier this month that concluded Iran can survive a U.S. naval blockade for at least three to four months before experiencing significant economic hardship.
A U.S. official who spoke to the Washington Post said that they believed Iran’s capacity for enduring economic strain could be far beyond what the agency has estimated.
“The leadership has gotten more radical, determined, and increasingly confident they can outlast U.S. political will and sustain domestic repression to check any resistance” inside Iran, the official said.
“Comparatively, you see similar regimes lasting years under sustained embargoes and airpower-only wars.”
In response to a request for comment from the Daily Beast, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales repeated the president’s claims that Iran’s military had been “crushed militarily.”
“Their ballistic missiles are destroyed, their production facilities are dismantled, their navy is sunk, and their proxies are weakened,” she added, before claiming that Iran is being “strangled economically” and losing $500 million per day as a result of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
“The Iranian regime knows their current reality is not sustainable, and President Trump holds all the cards as negotiators work to make a deal,” Wales continued. “Anyone who thinks Iran has reconstituted its military is either delusional or a mouthpiece of the IRGC.”
Acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez criticized the Times for its coverage, telling the Daily Beast, “It is so disgraceful that The New York Times and others are acting as public relations agents for the Iranian regime in order to paint Operation Epic Fury as anything other than a historic accomplishment.”
In a separate statement to the Daily Beast, Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell praised the U.S. military and asserted that it “has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the New York Times for comment.
