Politico Stresses Difficulty for US to Annihilate Iran Missile Stockpiles
The US military will have a hard time destroying Iran's remaining ballistic missile stockpiles because they are stored in heavily fortified locations, according to an article published by Politico.
It notes that the Pentagon is running out of strategically important targets to hit in Iran. A source cited in the article, a former US official, said that "the problem is there are few military sites accessible now without a ground invasion"."Tehran’s remaining ballistic missile stockpiles are getting harder and harder to hit, because the ones that remain are likely in hardened bunkers," he added.Another source believes that the effectiveness of US strikes is gradually declining, creating a politically delicate situation for President Donald Trump. "He’ll be humiliated if he leaves; and we’ll be in a quagmire if he stays," the source stated. According to the publication, Tehran’s strategy of trying to wait out American forces is paying some dividends, driving energy prices higher and ratcheting up the political pressure on the Trump administration to resolve the conflict and avoid the wrath of angry voters.The sources expressed confidence that the current situation could give Iran sufficient leverage to refuse negotiations on its nuclear program, the Middle East security and stability situation, or shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Citing five people familiar with the US intelligence, Reuters has claimed in a report that the United States can only determine with certainty that it has destroyed about a third of Iran's vast missile arsenal.The status of around another third is less clear but bombings likely damaged, destroyed or buried those missiles in underground tunnels and bunkers, four of the sources said. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the information.One of the sources said the intelligence was similar for Iran's drone capability, adding that there was some degree of certainty about a third having been destroyed.The assessment shows that while most of Iran's missiles are either destroyed or inaccessible, Tehran still has a significant missile inventory and may be able to recover some buried or damaged missiles once fighting stops.The intelligence stands in contrast to Trump's public remarks on Thursday that Iran had "very few rockets left". He also appeared to acknowledge the threat from remaining Iranian missiles and drones to any future US operations to safeguard the economically vital Strait of Hormuz.
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