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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday dismissed U.S. intelligence reports regarding the nation’s military strength, asserting that Tehran’s missile and launcher inventory has surged to 120% of its prewar capacity, higher than the 75% figure recently cited by the CIA.
He accused the United States of consistently sabotaging diplomacy with military force, hours after Iranian and U.S. forces exchanged fire near the Strait of Hormuz.
"Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S. opts for a reckless military adventure. Is it a crude pressure tactic? Or the result of a spoiler once again duping POTUS into another quagmire? Whatever the causes, the outcome is the same: Iranians never bow to pressure and diplomacy is always the victim," Araghchi wrote on X Friday.
He then addressed the CIA assessment directly: "The CIA is wrong. Our missile inventory and launcher capacity are not at 75% compared to Feb. 28. The correct figure is 120%."
"As for our readiness to defend our people: 1,000%," he added.
Araghchi's statement was a direct response to a Washington Post report published Thursday, citing four people familiar with a classified CIA assessment delivered to the White House, which found that Iran retains approximately 75% of its prewar mobile launcher inventories and about 70% of its prewar missile stockpiles.
The assessment also said Iran had recovered and reopened almost all of its underground storage facilities, repaired some damaged missiles and assembled new missiles that were nearly complete when the war began.
Trump had separately claimed in Oval Office remarks that Iranian missiles were "mostly decimated" at 18 to 19%, a figure the CIA assessment also appeared to contradict.
Araghchi's 120% claim goes further still, asserting not merely that Iran has retained its arsenal but that it has expanded beyond prewar levels.
The remarks came after U.S. forces struck an Iranian oil tanker near Jask port, prompting the Iranian Navy to launch a large-scale missile and drone attack on three U.S. destroyers transiting the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. forces subsequently struck Iranian coastal sites in the country's south.
Trump described the exchange as "a love tap" and said the ceasefire remained in effect.
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