IRGC: Sanctions will not stop missile production, and Western intelligence confirms that the capability is intact and growing.
The commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Ahmed Vahidi, issued a defiant message to Iran's enemies, warning that "the path of Shaheed Hassan Tehrani early [the late father of Iran's missile program, editor] is a path that cannot be stopped through threats or sanctions."
According to Vahidi, "today" the space force of the Revolutionary Guards "are building power in the heart of the mountains and deep in the earth to strengthen the country", referring to the increasing firepower in Iran's underground "missile cities". which have proven to be largely immune to American-Israeli attacks.
Secretary of War Pete Heggest claims that the American attacks have crippled Iran's ability to produce missiles and that the country's defense industrial base has essentially "disappeared".
But an unnamed Western source told Bloomberg this week that Western intelligence is listening and believes Iran has at least 1,700 missiles in its arsenal, and is producing more at a rate of about 50 a month, about half its pre-war rate, having launched about 2,200 since February.
Iran has not disclosed the number of missiles it has, or its ability to produce new ones. However, Iranian political commentator Mohammad Marandi recently said that Iran has turned its industries into a war economy, replenishing its weapons arsenal so quickly that it is running out of places to store new weapons. Which directly contradicts the claims of the United States.