TEHRAN - The administration of President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that the United States has destroyed Iran’s military capabilities during the nearly 40-day war that began on February 28. Trump and his Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, have argued that the joint US–Israeli strikes have effectively crippled Iran’s military capacity.

“We’ve taken out their navy, we’ve taken out their air force, we’ve taken out their leaders,” Trump said on Tuesday.

Hegseth has further amplified the assessment of the US operation titled ‘Operation Epic Fury’. Speaking at a Pentagon press briefing on April 8, he said: “Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield, a capital V military victory. By any measure, Epic Fury decimated Iran’s military and rendered it combat ineffective for years to come.”

Trump administration inconsistencies 

Hegseth made the comments after the US president declared a two-week ceasefire with Iran. Hours before the expiration of the truce, Trump unilaterally extended it to receive a “unified proposal” from Iran to end the conflict. However, shortly before announcing the extension, he had said he opposed prolonging the truce, warning Iran that time was running out before the US launched a major attack on the country’s infrastructure.

In addition to the claims made by Trump and Hegseth, the Pentagon spokesman has described the war on Iran as a success.

Sean Parnell said that with more than 13,000 Iranian targets struck, “the United States military delivered a crippling series of blows” to Iran. He also claimed that more than 90 percent of the Iranian Navy’s largest vessels had been destroyed.

Nonetheless, US media reports citing American officials contradict the Trump administration’s claims.

Iran’s military might 

CBS News, quoting multiple US officials, reported that Iran “maintains more military capabilities than the White House or Pentagon has publicly admitted.”

Three officials with knowledge of the intelligence told the news outlet that about half of Iran’s stockpile of ballistic missiles and associated launch systems remain intact. They added that roughly 60 percent of the naval arm of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) is still operational, including fast-attack boats. The officials further noted that about two-thirds of Iran’s air force is still believed to be functional.

A Defense Intelligence Agency assessment has also challenged claims that Iran’s Air Force has been “wiped out” and its Navy is “at the bottom of the sea.”

“Iran retains thousands of missiles and one-way attack UAVs that can threaten US and partner forces throughout the region, despite degradations to its capabilities from both attrition and expenditure,” Marine Lt. Gen. James Adams, the head of the agency, said.

Iran’s continued control over the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war indicates that US claims of severely degrading its military power do not hold up. Throughout the conflict, Iran has not allowed vessels affiliated with its adversaries to transit the strategic waterway. After the ceasefire and following the collapse of talks between Tehran and Washington, the US imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to force Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but to no avail. Instead, Iran has tightened its control over the waterway and seized at least two ships that attempted to pass without coordination.

In addition to the US failure to eliminate Iran’s military capabilities, the broader consequences of the war for the United States are becoming evident.

Iran war drains US munition stocks 

According to The New York Times, “The Iran war has significantly drained much of the US military’s global supply of munitions, and forced the Pentagon to rush bombs, missiles and other hardware to the Middle East from commands in Asia and Europe.”

The report said the US military used about 1,100 JASSM-ER missiles during 39 days of war with Iran, each costing roughly $1.1 million, leaving about 1,500 in its inventory.

It added that the US military fired more than 1,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles, which cost about $3.6 million each—roughly ten times the number it currently purchases annually. The report also said the Pentagon used more than 1,200 Patriot interceptor missiles during the war, at more than $4 million each. Overall, it estimated the cost of the US campaign against Iran at up to $35 billion.

Iran retains significant missile capability  

Iran carried out 100 waves of missile and drone strikes against Israel and US positions in the region during the war. Iranian military and political officials stress that the country is open to negotiations, but that its armed forces remain fully prepared to respond decisively to any new act of aggression.

Iran has indigenized its military capabilities and is now capable of producing both defensive and offensive weapons domestically. The spokesman of Iran’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that the country’s weapons production capacity is the result of more than two decades of investment in its defense industry.

Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik noted that a significant portion of Iran’s missile capability remains unused.