Trump says Iran’s missile arsenal reduced, drone production hampered

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Iran was unable to pay its troops or obtain dollars.

By JNS

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran’s missile arsenal had been reduced and electricity shortages were hampering its drone production, while reiterating his pledge that Tehran would never obtain a nuclear weapon.

“Their missiles are still there, but much less. Their drones that they make, they’re having a hard time because they can’t get electricity any more,” Trump told supporters at a rally in Ohio.

“Iran will never, ever have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Wednesday that only Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu know whether further military action against Iran is coming.

“There are only two people on the planet who actually know if something is going to happen and if so, when,” Huckabee told Newsmax’s “Wake Up America.”

“And that’s President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu right now.”

Asked whether political uncertainty in Israel could delay potential operations, Huckabee said both leaders would base their decisions on their respective countries’ interests.

“There could be something with Iran. We simply don’t know,” he said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Wednesday that Iran was unable to pay its troops or obtain dollars, while funding for its proxies, including the Houthis, Hamas and Hezbollah, was being cut off.

“They’re not able to pay their troops. Importantly, they’re not able to get dollars,” Bessent said. “So they’re not able to replenish.”

Bessent said internal U.S. estimates indicated that Iran’s economy could contract by as much as 25% between March 2026 and March 2027.

He described “Operation Economic Outcast” as “the toughest operation ever to isolate a single economy in the history of the world.”

At the Ohio rally, Trump also defended his administration’s military campaign, arguing that the conflict began with the Islamic Republic’s establishment nearly five decades ago.

“This war was started in 1979 by Iran,” he said.

Trump called Iran “the world’s number one sponsor of terror,” accusing the regime of killing thousands of Americans and wounding thousands more.