CENTCOM Commander Disputes Intelligence Assessments on Irans Remaining Military Capability

Cooper's May 14 SASC testimony came one day after a New York Times report (Entous, Haberman, Swan, May 13) citing classified early-May intelligence assessments that Iran not only retained ~70% of its prewar missile stockpile and ~70% of its mobile launchers, but had regained operational access to 30 of 33 missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz and roughly 90% of its underground missile storage and launch facilities nationwide. Cooper told senators the open-source figures he had seen were 'not accurate,' declining to provide classified specifics, while his written testimony cited more than 1,450 strikes on Iranian weapons-manufacturing facilities and projected it would take 'a generation' to rebuild Iran's navy. The IC site-access findings, distinct from raw inventory counts, indicate Iran retains meaningful launch infrastructure even if the precise stockpile figures remain disputed between CENTCOM and the intelligence community.