Politics

Iranian Missile Capacity May Be Higher Than Trump Suggests

Flickr/szczepan.lemanczyk

U.S. intelligence indicates that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ missile capabilities may be greater than President Donald Trump has suggested.

The Iranian regime has access to 30 of its 33 missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz, The New York Times reported, citing senior U.S. intelligence officials.  U.S. officials in the Trump administration have repeatedly claimed that Iran’s ability to wage war has been significantly reduced, including its missile capabilities.

“The Iranian conventional military is effectively destroyed,” Vice President J.D. Vance said on March 26, according to a White House press release. “They don’t have a navy. They don’t have the ability to hit us like they could have even a few weeks ago… The most important American national security objective that exists for any Administration at any time is you don’t want the worst people in the world to have a nuclear weapon. That’s why the President is doing this.”(RELATED: Trump Says Hormuz Strikes Were ‘Just A Love Tap,’ Ceasefire In Effect)

Trump claimed that most of Iran’s missile capabilities were deteriorated in a Truth Social post on April 11.

“Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti Aircraft apparatus is nonexistent, Radar is dead, their Missile and Drone Factories have been largely obliterated along with the Missiles and Drones themselves and, most importantly, their longtime “Leaders” are no longer with us, praise be to Allah,” Trump said in the Truth Social post. “The only thing they have going is the threat that a ship may “bunk” into one of their sea mines which, by the way, all 28 of their mine dropper boats are also lying at the bottom of the sea.”

The Department of War and U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Iranian regime still has access to nearly 70% of its mobile missile launchers and retains 70% of its missile stockpiles, The New York Times reported, citing intelligence assessments.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also retains access to about 90% of its underground missile launching facilities, the Times reported.

Oil movements through the region remain critical to the global economy, despite the ongoing Iran war. The U.S. Energy Information Administration stated that nearly 20% of global oil consumption came from the Strait of Hormuz in 2024.

Many of the U.S. military’s key munitions will take more than four years to replenish, a Center for Strategic and International Studies report states.

“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,”  the acting Pentagon press secretary, Joel Valdez, said, according to The New York Times.