Iran has between 1,500 and 2,500 missiles, US intelligence assessment says
The stockpile allows Tehran to target American and allied forces if full-scale war resumes, according to reports.
Iran may possess between 1,500 and 2,500 missiles in its arsenal, according to a US intelligence assessment reported by the Times of India. This estimate suggests Tehran maintains a significant capacity to strike American and allied forces if full-scale war resumes.
The assessment contrasts with claims from the Trump administration that Iran's military capabilities had been decimated. In April, the White House stated that more than 85 per cent of Iran's defence-industrial base was destroyed and its ballistic missile production capacity had been levelled.
While US and Israeli strikes damaged missile-production facilities, Tehran has continued rebuilding its arsenal using stockpiled components. US officials told the Wall Street Journal that the rebuilding process is slower than before the war, though Iran also retains a large number of drones and short-range missiles.
Israeli military officials also estimate that Iran has more than 1,500 ballistic missiles. Simone Ledeen, former deputy assistant secretary of defence for the Middle East during the first Trump term, told the Wall Street Journal that even the lower estimate suggests Iran has replenished more than half of its estimated pre-war stockpile.
Estimating the exact size of the stockpile is difficult due to Tehran's secrecy and the number of producers it uses. Jim Lamson, a visiting research fellow at King's College London and former CIA analyst, said that even with classified information, confidence in such estimates can be extremely low.