US intelligence sees greater combat capability in Iran's army than the Trump administration admits - media
Kyiv • UNN
Despite Trump's statements about the destruction of Iran's army, intelligence reports that 50% of missiles and 60% of the IRGC's fleet remain. Iran still has thousands of UAVs and missiles.
The Islamic Republic of Iran possesses greater military capabilities than the White House or the Pentagon have publicly acknowledged, according to several US officials familiar with intelligence on the matter, CBS News reports, writes UNN.
Details
According to three officials, at the time the ceasefire began in early April, about half of Iran's ballistic missile inventory and associated launch systems remained intact.
According to officials, approximately 60% of the naval forces of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) still exist, including fast attack craft. On Wednesday, Iranian boats attacked several merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz shortly after President Trump announced a unilateral extension of the ceasefire to allow more time for peace talks.
Iranian air power is significantly weakened but not destroyed, officials said.
According to officials, about two-thirds of the Iranian Air Force are still operational after an intensive US and Israeli campaign that struck thousands of targets, including storage and production facilities.
Previously, US President Donald Trump and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth described the US operation, dubbed "Epic Fury," as essentially the destruction of Iran's military potential.
"We destroyed their navy, we destroyed their air force, we destroyed their leaders," Trump said on Tuesday.
The US Secretary of Defense, the publication writes, went even further in his public statements. "Operation 'Epic Fury' was a historic and devastating battlefield victory, a military victory with a capital V," Hegseth said at a Pentagon briefing on April 8, shortly after Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran. He added: "By any measure, 'Epic Fury' destroyed the Iranian military and rendered it combat-ineffective for years to come."
According to a US official, battle damage assessment shows that a significant portion of Iran's conventional navy was destroyed during the joint operation.
However, officials said, the IRGC's naval unit, designed for asymmetric warfare and equipped with a multitude of small vessels, partially survived, and it is this fleet that is hindering oil transportation in the Strait of Hormuz.
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The head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency submitted a written statement before a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, stating that Iran can still cause harm.
"Iran retains thousands of missiles and attack UAVs that can threaten US and partner forces throughout the region, despite a reduction in its capabilities due to both attrition and expenditure," wrote US Marine Corps Lieutenant General James Adams.
In response to a request for comment on the article, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the war was successful, with over 13,000 Iranian targets hit.
"In less than 40 days, the US military delivered a series of devastating blows to the Iranian regime," he said.
Parnell stated that 92% of the largest ships in the Iranian navy were destroyed, as were about 44 mine-laying vessels.
This was "the largest destruction of a navy in three weeks since World War II," Parnell said. "Secretary Hegseth cannot help but be proud of the determination of our service members, and the mainstream media's obsession with ignoring their efforts is telling."