US intel finds Iran retains significant strike capacity: Report
Washington: Latest US intelligence assessments show that roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers are still intact and thousands of one-way attack drones remain in Iran’s arsenal more than one month after the United States and Israel launched massive strikes on Iran, CNN reported.
“They are still very much poised to wreak absolute havoc throughout the entire region,” a source familiar with the intelligence told the US media outlet.
According to the report, the assessments also indicate that Iran retains a large number of missiles, as well as a significant portion of its coastal defense cruise missiles, a key capability for controlling the Strait of Hormuz, Xinhua news agency reported.
Although Iran’s Navy vessels have largely been destroyed, the separate naval forces belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps still retain roughly half of its capabilities, with “hundreds, if not thousands, of small boats and unmanned surface vessels left,” according to sources cited by CNN.
The intelligence shows that Iran’s use of underground facilities has helped preserve its missile launchers. The country has long hidden its launchers in extensive networks of tunnels and caves, making them particularly difficult to target.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday put the timeline for completing US military operations at two to three weeks. However, a source who has reviewed the intelligence assessments described the timeline as unrealistic.
Israel, US allies in the Gulf, as well as US troops, have continued to face regular missile and drone strikes from Iran.