Satellite Imagery Shows Iran’s Speedy Recovery After US Strikes: Report

(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Iran quickly recovered long-range missiles buried by U.S. strikes, using bulldozers and dump trucks to quickly regain access to underground sites, according to satellite imagery.

President Donald Trump, his Department of Defense chief, and many others within the administration have repeatedly claimed that Iran’s military has been “decimated,” almost wholly crippled by U.S. strikes. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in April that Iran would be “digging out your remaining launchers and missiles, with no ability to replace them. You have no defense industry.”

Yet a new investigation by CNN reports that Iran’s military capacity maintains strong resilience against U.S. strikes, with satellite images showing tunnel entrances blocked by bombs getting quickly dug out with “simple equipment.” At eighteen underground missile sites, Iran has unblocked 50 of the 69 entrances.

“During the fighting, Iran worked to excavate the tunnel entrances at great peril, with the U.S. and Israel often striking the equipment used for digging. That work enabled Tehran to continue firing missiles throughout the war, though at vastly reduced rates,” the report reads. “Since the ceasefire more than seven weeks ago, Iranian efforts to excavate the bases have accelerated significantly.”

Iran has also repaired roads bombed by the U.S. and Israel, filling in craters and going so far as to repave around two sites. Experts told the outlet that this ability on the part of Iran suggests “that Tehran’s missile capabilities can’t be destroyed just by targeting tunnel entrances,” claiming that Iran has access to 1,000 missiles within those underground sites.

CNN’s piece mirrors similar reporting on the state of Iran’s military capacity, including a May report from The New York Times that claimed the president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth drastically overestimated U.S. success in crippling Iran’s military capabilities, according to classified assessments. Those documents showed that Iran has regained access to a majority of its missile sites, including 30 out of the 33 located along the Strait of Hormuz.

The country has access to 70 percent of mobile missile launchers and has held onto 70 percent of its ballistic and cruise missiles throughout the conflict. Iran also regained access to ninety percent of its underground facilities, used to store and launch missiles, which are now “partially or fully operational,” those familiar with the intelligence assessments said.

The U.S. and Iran continued to trade strikes over the weekend as the president requested changes to the proposed memorandum of understanding between the two countries – a deal that would extend the ongoing ceasefire, while laying the groundwork for ongoing talks.

Trump claimed on Monday morning that “Iran really wants to make a deal,” telling “Dumocrats, and various seemingly unpatriotic Republicans” who were impatient with the ongoing conflict that all would be worked out.

“Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end,” the president wrote.

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