Iran has been rebuilding its military capacity much faster than anticipated during a six-week ceasefire with the US and Israel, according to new US intelligence reports cited by CNN. Four US officials said the ceasefire allowed Tehran to restart drone production, replace missile sites, and reignite its production capacity.
“The Iranians have exceeded all timelines the IC [the intelligence community] had for reconstitution,” one official told CNN. Top Iranian diplomat and parliamentary speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf confirmed on Wednesday that the country had used the opportunity to rebuild its strength and military capability.
US sources attribute Iran’s success to continued support from Russia and Ukraine, and to the fact that US and Israeli attacks did not inflict as much damage as hoped. Some US intelligence estimates suggest Iran could fully reconstitute its drone attack capabilities within six months, though production times for individual components vary.
Two sources familiar with US intelligence assessments told CNN that China had continued to provide Iran with missile components during the conflict, although this has likely been curtailed by the US blockade. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused China of supporting Iran, but Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun denied the allegations as “not based on facts.”
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell stated that “America’s military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing.” A previous CNN investigation revealed that Iranian attacks had damaged a majority of US bases in the Middle East.
The analysis aligns with reports that at least 60 per cent of Iran’s missiles survived US-Israeli attacks, with nuclear facilities largely unharmed. A senior Nato source noted that Iran continues to attack Gulf nations with missiles and drones, suggesting substantial retained capability. US intelligence also found that Iran restored operational access to 30 of 33 missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz, contradicting claims by President Donald Trump that Iran’s navy was “completely obliterated.”
