Iran Reportedly Retains 1,700 Ballistic Missiles and Produces 50 a Month

Iran reportedly retains at least 1,700 ballistic missiles and can manufacture about 50 more each month, according to a Western intelligence assessment reported on November 10. The production estimate is about half the level before the war began in February, despite damage inflicted during the American and Israeli air campaign. An unnamed Western official familiar with military intelligence reports said much of Iran’s conventional military infrastructure had been destroyed, but that the country retained a substantial missile stockpile and the ability to replenish it. The assessment differs from repeated American statements that Iranian missile stocks and the capacity to replace them had been severely weakened. Jim Lamson, a former CIA analyst specializing in Iran and the Middle East, estimated that Iran may also retain thousands of Shahed-type strike weapons. Lamson, a visiting research fellow in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, said calculating the remaining arsenal was difficult because the original inventory, the number used or destroyed and replacement production were uncertain. Western intelligence officials also indicated that Russia supplies Iran with strike weapons, without establishing their types or quantities. Iran’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.