Overview
- Iran’s missile capacity, detailed in a New York Times report Wednesday based on early‑May U.S. intelligence, includes restored access to 30 of 33 sites along the Strait of Hormuz and about 70% of mobile launchers and pre‑war missile stocks.
- The assessments say roughly 90% of underground missile facilities remain at least partly operational, leaving ships transiting the narrow Hormuz chokepoint within range on a route that carries about 20% of global oil and gas.
- The White House rejected the reporting, with spokesperson Olivia Wales calling it “virtual treason,” and the Pentagon’s Joel Valdez accusing newspapers of serving as public relations for Iran.
- Separate reporting details heavy U.S. munitions use—more than 1,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles and about 1,300 Patriot interceptors—far above annual production, raising worries about resupply if large‑scale fighting resumes.
- Le Figaro and L’Express relayed the intelligence findings that cut against repeated claims by President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that Iran’s forces were “decimated,” even as a fragile ceasefire leaves the region on edge.