Reuters: The US destroys only about a third of Iranʼs missile capability in strikes

The US believes that it was able to destroy only a third of Iranʼs missile arsenal, despite large-scale strikes on its military facilities.

This is reported by Reuters, citing sources.

According to the interlocutors, a significant portion of Iranian missiles remain inaccessible for strikes, in particular due to an extensive network of underground storage facilities. This makes it difficult to both destroy them and accurately assess losses.

The status of another third is in question — there is a possibility that they were damaged or destroyed by bombing, or found themselves under rubble in underground tunnels and bunkers.

This means that Tehran still has a significant missile stockpile and can restore some of the missiles that are currently under rubble or damaged after the end of hostilities.

The same goes for drones. At the same time, according to the Pentagon, the intensity of Iranian missile and drone attacks has decreased by about 90% since the beginning of the war.

In addition, one of the interlocutors says that accurate assessments are complicated by the lack of reliable data on how many weapons Iran had in underground bunkers at the time of the war.

War in the Middle East

On the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. These attacks killed Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials. A new ayatollah was elected on March 8, and he was Mojtaba Khamenei (the son of the deceased Ali Khamenei).

Iran, in response to the US and Israeli attacks, has begun shelling US bases in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE and firing missiles at Israel. Some Iranian drones and missiles have hit infrastructure and residential areas in Arab countries.

The war has halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the worldʼs oil exports pass — tens of millions of barrels a day. Markets reacted instantly, with oil, gas and precious metals rising in price.

To keep prices down, the International Energy Agency decided to release 400 million barrels of oil. On March 12, the United States lifted sanctions on the purchase of Russian oil that was stuck at sea for 30 days, and a week later, permission was granted for Iranian oil.

On March 22, Axios reported that the Trump administration had begun discussing a possible peace deal with Iran. Iranʼs demands include a ceasefire, guarantees that war will not resume in the future, and compensation.

In return, the US wants Iran to make 6 commitments:

• to abandon the missile program for five years;
• zero uranium enrichment;
• to decommission the nuclear facilities at Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow, which the US and Israel bombed last year;
• strict external control over the creation and use of nuclear centrifuges and related equipment;
• arms control agreements with countries in the region limiting missiles to 1000 units.

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