About half of Iran's missile launchers remain operative after more than a month of war with the U.S. and Israel, according to a new report.
Citing the latest intelligence assessments, CNN detailed that the country also has access to thousands of one-way attack drones. Estimates are that about half of its arsenal has not yet been deployed or destroyed.
"They are still very much poised to wreak absolute havoc throughout the entire region," a source told the outlet.
However, the report noted that the assessment could include launchers that are not accessible to Iran because they are buried under rubble but not destroyed.
Elsewhere, CNN noted that most of Iran's coastal defense cruise missiles have not been impacted, an assessment that is consistent with the U.S.'s focus on assets in central Iran, rather than its coast. This despite Tehran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has led to a surge in global oil prices.
President Donald Trump has vowed to continue attacks for at least two or three more weeks, saying in a prime time address on Wednesday that U.S. forces are managing to dismantle "the regime's ability to threaten America or reject power outside of their borders."
"That means eliminating Iran's navy, which is now absolutely destroyed, hurting their air force and their missile program at levels never seen before and annihilating their defense industrial base. We've done all of it. Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Their missiles are just about used up or beaten," he added.
Combined, these factors will "cripple Iran's military, crush their ability to support terrorist proxies and deny them the ability to build a nuclear weapon," Trump added. He also recalled the nuclear sites targeted by last year's "Operation Midnight Hammer," noting that it would still take Tehran months to retrieve any of the material buried under the rubble. And if they do seek to do it, "we'll hit them with missiles very hard again."
The war continues in the meantime, with headlines on Friday focusing on the alleged downing of a U.S. fighter jet in southwest Iran. State media called on citizens to help find the pilots and "shoot them as soon as you see them." It then changed the directive, offering a reward to anyone who finds the pilots.
Axios noted that this would be the first time since the beginning of the war that a U.S. jet is downed by enemy fire. Images posted on social media and Iranian TV suggest the jet is a F-15 fighter.
