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US intelligence reports from last month suggest only partial damage as Iran maintains pressure with missiles and drones.
The Jihad missile system is seen during the annual military parade in Tehran, Iran. (IMAGE: REUTERS)
Iranian officials told Pakistani mediators that they believed Tehran was gaining the upper hand in the conflict against the US and Israel, and that it retained 15,000 missiles and 45,000 drones in its arsenal.
The Wall Street Journalwhich first reported the development, said Iran was sticking to a hardline position in negotiations and showed no signs of backing down.
The mediators told the newspaper they believed the numbers were likely exaggerated, but said the claim reflected Iran’s unflinching stance in talks.
The remarks come as US President Donald Trump warned that “a whole civilization will die” in Iran on Tuesday if the country does not heed his ultimatum.
West Asia was plunged into a spiralling conflict after the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28, triggering retaliatory attacks across the region.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that Iran’s missile capabilities were severely degraded or effectively neutralised.
That claim, however, sits uneasily with intelligence assessments that emerged from Washington in late March.
A Reuters report, citing multiple sources familiar with US intelligence, suggests that after more than a month of sustained strikes, only about a third of Iran’s missile and drone arsenal has been destroyed.
Another third is believed to be damaged or rendered temporarily inaccessible, buried deep within underground tunnels and fortified bunkers. The remainder, while harder to deploy quickly, still represents a significant operational reserve.
The picture that emerges is not one of a dismantled arsenal, but a degraded yet intact capability. This contradicts Trump’s late March claim that Tehran had “very few rockets left”, as well as statements from other US officials that the war had effectively eliminated its ballistic missile capabilities.
Even as parts of its stockpile have been hit, Iran has continued to launch ballistic missiles and drones across the region, targeting Israel and key energy infrastructure in the Gulf.
April 07, 2026, 11:50 PM IST
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