Iran Is Rebuilding Its Missile Arsenal Underground After US and Israeli Strikes Cripple Production

Iran has resumed producing ballistic missiles inside underground facilities, assembling stockpiled components despite US and Israeli strikes meant to cripple the program, according to intelligence findings reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on September 10.

US and Middle Eastern officials familiar with the matter described activity to the oulet at several buried sites, including the Khojir missile complex in southeastern Iran. The officials indicated that Tehran is assembling both liquid-propellant missiles, fueled just before launch, and solid-propellant types that can be stored ready to fire.

Iran is also attempting to build new underground assembly points to avoid being struck again, they noted. For now, the missiles are being pieced together from existing components in smaller quantities than before the war, the officials added. US and Israeli strikes damaged industrial facilities, while a naval blockade has complicated imports of parts and solid-fuel ingredients.

Tal Inbar, a senior analyst at the US-based Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, argued that the pattern was predictable once the bombing stopped. "When there are no bombings of the facilities, you can replace damaged infrastructure, and you can buy new components from other countries and store them in the facilities," he explained.

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Analysts assessed that Iran retains thousands of ballistic missiles and could assemble at least a couple hundred more from components already on hand. One former CIA analyst now at King's College London noted that Tehran had stockpiled finished warheads, airframes, and guidance systems before the fighting began.

US officials have maintained that the program lies in ruins. Sean Parnell, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, stated that American forces had destroyed up to 90% of Iran's drone, ballistic missile, and naval industrial base. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had gone further in April, declaring the missile effort "functionally destroyed" and beyond repair.

"You have no defense industry, no ability to replenish your offensive or defense capabilities," Hegseth declared. The fresh intelligence undercuts that assessment, suggesting the pause in fighting has given Tehran room to recover.

Among the weapons Iran keeps firing is the Kheibar Shekan, described as mobile, accurate, and relatively cheap to produce. Those qualities make it well-suited to sustained, high-volume attacks that strain enemy air defenses.

On Wednesday, Iran launched a heavy salvo at an air base in Jordan that houses US troops. Footage showed projectiles fitted with cluster warheads, a type used earlier in the war to overwhelm Israeli air defenses.

Satellite imagery has shown Iran repairing roads, bridges, and production sites, and reopening tunnel entrances collapsed by earlier airstrikes. Weapons stored inside those underground sites are likely well preserved, according to Israeli military assessments.

Iran built its missile program in the 1980s during the war with Iraq and rebuilt quickly after last year's 12-day conflict with Israel. Nicole Grajewski, an Iranian-strategy expert at Sciences Po, noted that the missile network regenerates faster than the nuclear program and is heavily dispersed by design.

The rebuilding effort has extended well beyond missile assembly during the current lull in fighting. Since a 60-day ceasefire took hold in mid-June, later extended by two months in August, Tehran has worked to replenish its arsenal from outside sources as well. Russia began shipping explosives, ammunition, and drone parts to Iran across the Caspian Sea, a route Western navies cannot interdict. That maritime corridor has helped Iran restock weapons depleted by earlier US and Israeli strikes.

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