The Trump administration can only confirm that it has destroyed about one-third of Iran’s missile arsenal and drone capacity, despite the president saying Iran has “very few rockets left.”
Intelligence sources told Reuters that another third of Iran’s missile arsenal was probably damaged, destroyed, or buried underground, but their status was less certain.
Assuming that is the case, most of Iran’s missiles would be destroyed or inaccessible, but a significant inventory remains, according to Reuters.
The president nevertheless claimed during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday that Iran’s strike capabilities had been nearly eliminated.
A Pentagon official told Reuters that Iranian missile and drone attacks were down by about 90 percent since the start of the war, while the military’s Central Command has also “damaged or destroyed over 66 percent of Iranian missile, drone, and naval production facilities and shipyards.
The Daily Beast has also reached out for comment.
During Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, Trump said that even if Iran retained just 1 percent of its missile arsenal, it would be a problem because those weapons could be used against ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The president has ordered thousands of ground troops to deploy to the Middle East and is considering escalating the war by sending U.S. soldiers along the Strait, which Iran closed in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli strikes, according to Reuters.
With the war about to enter its second month, U.S. gas prices have soared by 30 percent in some areas, sparking a political backlash that threatens Republican prospects in the midterm elections.
Trump is reportedly eager to end the war in the next couple of weeks, despite his public boasting that things are “going very well,” because it’s distracting from his other priorities.
He’s also concerned about the potential for additional U.S. casualties. So far, 13 Americans have been killed and nearly 300 have been wounded.
Iran, however, is reportedly refusing to engage with Trump’s chosen emissaries to the Middle East, real estate developer Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, over concerns that the negotiations would not be in good faith and would just be a pretext for further attacks.
The regime prefers to engage with Vice President JD Vance, who has been wary of U.S. foreign intervention.
