According to a U.S. intelligence assessment, Iran has been rapidly recovering underground missile bunkers and silos damaged by U.S. and Israeli strikes. The report indicates that Iranian crews are digging out and restoring these facilities within hours of an attack, making them operational again in a very short time.
The assessment also states that Iran still possesses a significant stockpile of ballistic missiles and mobile launchers. Earlier this week, the White House and the Pentagon claimed that around 11,000 targets in Iran had been struck over five weeks of conflict, achieving substantial success.
However, U.S. intelligence agencies are not fully aligned with these claims. They believe that the United States remains far from its objective of completely dismantling Iran’s missile capabilities. Iran still retains the ability to strike Israel and other parts of the Middle East using its remaining missile systems and launchers.
U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio has emphasized that destroying Iran’s missile capability is a key objective of the war. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has repeatedly stated that Iran’s military strength has been severely degraded by U.S. and Israeli strikes. However, he recently softened his tone, acknowledging that “Iran can still launch some missiles, but we will intercept them in the air.”
White House officials claim that Iran’s missile and drone attacks have dropped by about 90 percent since the war began. They also assert that Iran’s navy has been largely neutralized, a significant portion of its production facilities destroyed, and that U.S. and Israeli forces now dominate Iranian airspace.
In contrast, intelligence analysts suggest there may be other reasons behind the reduction in attacks. They believe Iran has strategically moved many of its missile launchers into mountain caves and underground bunkers to avoid detection and destruction, allowing them to be reused when needed.
According to U.S. officials, Iran is trying to preserve its missile capabilities for two main reasons: to maintain pressure if the war becomes prolonged, and to retain regional military influence after the conflict ends.
Despite a possible reduction in usage, Tehran has not halted its attacks on Israel. Current and former U.S. officials estimate that Iran is launching an average of around 20 missiles per day toward Israel, sometimes in smaller, staggered waves. A Western official, however, claimed that Iran is firing between 15 to 30 ballistic missiles and deploying 50 to 100 “one-way attack” drones daily.
Iran’s actual military capacity remains uncertain. Analysts say Tehran is using a large number of decoy or disguised launchers to create confusion, making it difficult to determine how many of the destroyed systems were real.
Additionally, Washington does not have precise data on how many launchers Iran possessed before the war. This makes it challenging to accurately assess how many remain operational in damaged bunkers and underground facilities.
In many cases, sites that appear destroyed from the air are not completely neutralized. Iran has been able to excavate and restore these locations quickly, returning them to service.
Earlier reports from international media suggested that nearly half of Iran’s missile launchers remain intact. Recent intelligence findings appear to support that assessment, although no exact figures have been disclosed.
Israeli media outlets have also reported that Iran is using bulldozers to dig out launchers buried under rubble in underground bunkers, enabling their rapid recovery and reuse.
Iran repairs missile bunker within hours of attack, digs up launchers
