Iran says most missile capabilities 'unused' in war with US: report
Objects are seen in the sky above Jerusalem after Iran launched drones and missiles towards Israel. PHOTO: Reuters
A defence ministry spokesperson said most of Iran’s missile capabilities have been "unused" in the war with the US, Tasnim News reported Saturday.
Gen. Reza Talaei-Nik said Iran's "significant portion of the missile capabilities remains unused," according to the report by the semi-official news agency.
Arguing that Iranian forces maintained the upper hand throughout the conflict, he said, "Our forces maintained complete air superiority over the occupied territories of the Zionist (Israeli) territory, and a portion of our missile capabilities were utilised during the 40-day war".
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Regarding naval confrontations, he claimed that hostile warships repeatedly retreated hundreds of kilometres from the Sea of Oman in response to decisive actions by Iranian forces.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted since the US and Israel initiated a war against Iran beginning Feb. 28, rattling global energy markets and raising fears of prolonged economic damage.
On the other hand, on April 1, United States officials claimed that Iran’s missile and drone capabilities have been largely destroyed, but data suggested that Tehran’s operational capacity has shown no significant decline.
According to data compiled by Anadolu from defence and interior ministries of the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Jordan, as well as the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), open-source intelligence platforms and data-analysis social media accounts, Iran has launched 6,770 missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at Jordan, Gulf countries hosting US military and financial assets, and Israel since February 28 under its retaliation strategy.
The largest share of these attacks targeted the UAE with 2,429 strikes, followed by Israel with 1,365 and Kuwait with 950. However, INSS data indicates that Iran used 600 missiles and 765 drones in its retaliatory attacks on Israel alone.
On March 26, US President Donald Trump said that approximately 90% of Iran’s missile and launch systems had been disabled, adding that the production capacity of drones, missiles and related facilities had also been significantly reduced.