Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal still capable of devastating US bases, allies – report

American allies wary of Iranian counterstrikes if US attacks regime, with Persian Gulf states warning that Iran’s missile arsenal could still inflict major damage.

By World Israel News Staff

Arab states aligned with the United States warned US officials recently that Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal is still capable of inflicting major damage on American assets and allies in the region, despite the damage incurred during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran last June.

Two Western officials briefed on the matter spoke with The Washington Post on condition of anonymity in a report published on Sunday, sharing details on warnings by Persian Gulf states to the Trump administration.

Iran’s offensive missile capabilities were severely damaged by Israel’s air campaign last June, with losses to the regime’s ballistic missile arsenal, damage to missile silos, the loss of mobile launcher units, and damage to the country’s missile production capacity.

However, a security assessment produced by an Arab state aligned with the US found that key elements of Iran’s ballistic missile program remain intact, while others have been reconstituted since the June war.

The White House’s primary concern in planning out American strikes has been the threat of large-scale retaliation by Iran, the report claimed, particularly in the form of ballistic missile attacks on American assets and allies in the region.

Unlike Iran’s largely symbolic missile attack on an American airbase in Qatar last June, following American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, a new US air campaign against the regime is expected to spark an intense Iranian counterattack, with Tehran now viewing a possible war with America following the crackdown on dissident protests as an existential threat to the regime.

The assessment produced by an unnamed Persian Gulf state estimated that while Iran’s medium-range ballistic missile arsenal – including projectiles capable of reaching Israel – sustained major losses, its short-range capabilities remained largely untouched, placing nearby American bases, embassies, and American allies in the Persian Gulf at risk.

Iran’s short range missile arsenal could be used against dozens of facilities housing tens of thousands of American personnel.

The threat of Iranian retaliatory strikes has had a chilling effect on some American allies, who have urged the Trump administration to seek a diplomatic solution, distancing themselves from the US buildup.