Iran Resumes Missile Production After June Deal: WSJ — SkimNews
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- Iran resumed ballistic missile production at underground sites including the Khojir missile facility in southeastern Iran, assembling new missiles from existing components in more limited quantities than before the war, per a WSJ report Thursday citing U.S. and Middle Eastern officials
- One U.S. official told the Journal that Iran likely restarted production after the U.S. and Iran signed an interim peace deal to end the war in June, and the regime is building new underground assembly sites to evade renewed American attacks
- Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the U.S. has "destroyed up to 90% of Iran's drone, ballistic missile, and naval industrial base" and "significantly degraded" its capabilities — claims now directly at odds with the WSJ reporting
- Tal Inbar of the U.S.-based Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance told the Journal that Iran likely still has thousands of ballistic missiles despite the strikes
- Iran's Defense Ministry told state-run Fars News Agency: "Soon, you will see a tip of this iceberg," signaling further defense capability developments
- Tehran launched ballistic missiles at U.S. military aircraft at Jordan's Muwaffaq Salti Air Base overnight Tuesday into Wednesday in retaliation for U.S. strikes on five Iranian oil tankers; Trump denied the report, telling NewsNation there was "none whatsoever" damage
Why it matters: The Pentagon claims 90% destruction of Iran's missile industrial base while Iran's Defense Ministry says "soon, you will see a tip of this iceberg" and analysts say Tehran retains thousands of missiles. The contradiction undermines the premise of the June interim peace deal — that sustained U.S. military pressure had neutralized Iran's threat — and raises hard questions about the administration's war narrative heading into midterm season.
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