Iran has already been defeated militarily.
Time and again, Donald Trump has claimed that the U.S. and Israel have decimated Iran and knocked out the country's military capabilities:
"They have no navy, their air force is gone, all technology is gone, their 'leader' is no longer with us," the president recently wrote on Truth Social.
Attack in the Strait?
But the overall picture in the American intelligence community is that Iran has access to most of its missile facilities, launch sites and underground complexes, writes The New York Times, citing secret information that intelligence agencies have provided to members of Congress.
Most worrying, according to some sources, is evidence that suggests that after the U.S.-Israeli attack this spring, Iran may now once again use 30 of its 33 missile bases near the Strait of Hormuz. This could threaten U.S. warships and oil tankers in the narrow waterway that is so important for global oil trade.
In total, Iran is reported to still have around 70 percent of its mobile launchers and an almost equal share of its missile stockpile.
Can withstand blockade
The report is in line with information published by The Washington Post last week, based on a CIA report to the U.S. government, which also stated that Iran could withstand a U.S. naval blockade for months and that it would be at least three to four months before the Iranian regime faced more serious economic problems.
The war with Iran began with the U.S. and Israel's attack on February 28, which was motivated by concern that Iran was close to acquiring nuclear weapons. Since the beginning of April there has been a fragile ceasefire, and the White House has focused on the Strait of Hormuz, which has at times been blocked by both the U.S. and Iran.
