The Iranian military still has thousands of missiles and drones in its arsenal despite weeks of heavy US and Israeli airstrikes, according to a new intelligence assessment.
Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James Adams, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told lawmakers that Iran “retains thousands” of missiles and one-way attack drones, which pose a threat to US and partner forces in the Middle East.
During testimony before the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Adams said that Iran had managed to preserve the munitions “despite degradations to its capabilities from both attrition and expenditure.”
US and Israeli forces carried out thousands of airstrikes against Iran amid Operation Epic Fury before a tenuous, two-week ceasefire took effect earlier this month.
Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on April 8 that the US military struck more than 450 Iranian ballistic missile storage facilities and 800 one-way attack drone storage facilities. “All of these systems are gone,” he added.
Airstrikes heavily targeted Iran’s industrial base, too. US officials have said that Tehran no longer has the infrastructure to build missiles, launchers, or drones.
Iran was believed to possess thousands of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, as well as cruise missiles and one-way attack drones, before the conflict began, and it fired many of these weapons at US bases, Israel, and Gulf states amid the fighting.
The US and its Gulf partners intercepted about 1,700 Iranian ballistic missiles and one-way attack drones, Caine said this month.
It is unclear exactly how many missiles and attack drones Iran retains, but Adams’ testimony this week suggests its arsenal is still largely intact. Much of the weaponry could be underground. Pentagon leaders have said Iran has hidden and buried many capabilities over decades.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that Iran is digging out its remaining missiles and launchers. Satellite imagery has shown Tehran carrying out excavation work at bases struck earlier in the war.
Should the war again go hot if ongoing negotiations fail, Iran’s remaining missiles and drones could pose a threat to US forces involved in a maritime blockade of Iranian ports and mine-clearing operations in the Strait of Hormuz, two missions the Pentagon announced amid the ceasefire.
More than a dozen US warships are involved in the blockade, which threatens critical oil revenue that Iran depends on and further pressures its economy. Several merchant vessels have turned around to avoid interdiction during the first few days of the operation.
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