Iran still possesses thousands of ballistic missiles: Report

Iran still possesses thousands of ballistic missiles that it could use by retrieving launchers from underground storage areas, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing sources.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran’s military “is defeated, Their military is gone. We've degraded just about everything. They have very few missiles. They have very little manufacturing capability. We've hit them hard."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also said Iran’s missile program is “functionally destroyed,” with launchers and missiles largely depleted and ineffective.

But the report suggests Iran could rebuild parts of its missile force. Although more than half of its launchers have been destroyed, damaged, or buried, many could be repaired or recovered.

Iran’s missile stockpile has also been cut roughly in half, but it still holds thousands of medium- and short-range ballistic missiles that could be brought out from storage or underground sites.

Iran now is said to have well under half of its original one-way attack drones, after heavy use and strikes on its production facilities. Still, officials say, it could obtain similar systems from Russia.

A two-week ceasefire in the US-Iran war on Iran that started on Feb. 28 took effect this week after Pakistani mediation, which is also hosting talks to permanently end the war.

Nearly 3,000 Iranians have been killed according to the country's authorities, while the conflict also left at least 13 US servicemen dead and dozens of others wounded, and disrupted the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil shipping.