Iran is using the ongoing ceasefire to dig out missiles, munitions, and launchers which had been either intentionally hidden underground or were buried under rubble from US and Israeli airstrikes, NBC News reported on Friday, citing a US official and two other people familiar with the matter.
According to the sources, the US believes that Iran intends to rebuild its missile capabilities in preparation for the resumption of war if negotiations fall through.
US President Trump was set to meet with his national security team on Thursday to review options for opening the Strait of Hormuz and removing nuclear material, a US official told NBC. US CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper was scheduled to brief the president and the team on the options, and Trump is expected to make a decision in the coming days.
A White House official told NBC that Trump’s upcoming trip to China and planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which was pushed off to mid-May, may contribute to his decision. The visit has been made a priority, and the White House wants to avoid pushing it off again.
During a press conference, Hegseth addressed Iranian leadership, saying, “You are digging out your remaining launchers and missiles with no ability to replace them.”
“You only have what you have. You know that, and we know that. You can move things around, but you can’t actually rebuild,” Hegseth said.
However, while Hegseth said that Iran now has “no defense industry,” a sentiment that has been echoed by many in the Trump administration, NBC reported last week that the US has intelligence Iran maintains not only many of their ballistic missiles but over half of the Iranian air force’s aircraft, as well as over half of the IRGC’s fleet of naval assets.
Iran likely maintained much of their arsenal through decoys and dispersal, as well as burying missiles and launchers, NBC cited a US official as saying.
On Wednesday, Trump claimed that about 82% of Iranian missiles and most Iranian drones “are gone.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio put the number of Iranian missiles left at about half in an interview with Fox News on Monday, adding that Iran had “none of the factories, and no navy and no air force. All that’s been destroyed.”
Source:
www.jpost.com
