The White House: Iran’s capabilities were "crushed," and talk of rebuilding them is "delusional." The Pentagon accused the New York Times of acting as a "public relations agent" for Tehran. Earlier, after the twelve-day war of June 2025, it was announced that both the nuclear and missile programs had been destroyed.
White House · PentagonClassified US intelligence assessments reported by the New York Times and Washington Post in May 2026: Iran retained about 70% of its missile arsenal and roughly 70 to 75% of its mobile launchers, regained access to 30 of 33 missile facilities along Hormuz, and returned about 90% of its underground storage and launch pads to operation. The assessment concluded that planners had overestimated the damage and underestimated the speed of restoration.
US intel via NYT · May 2026The significance is not only that the numbers conflict, but that the source contradicting the official American account is American intelligence itself. When an account conflicts with the assessment produced by the same government, it is the account that comes into doubt.