Iran Resumes Ballistic Missile Production Underground After Strikes

US and Middle Eastern officials have informed The Wall Street Journal that Tehran has recently restarted ballistic missile assembly in underground facilities, despite previous American and Israeli strikes that impacted Iran's missile industry. According to intelligence shared by these officials, renewed activity is observed at several subterranean sites in Iran, including the missile facility in Khojair, southeast of Tehran. The report suggests Iran is attempting to revive its damaged production lines by utilizing components stockpiled before the attacks. While current production is relatively limited, the resumption of activity indicates Tehran's commitment to maintaining its strategic missile capability, which poses a direct threat to Israel.

The missiles being reassembled include liquid-fueled systems requiring fueling and preparation before launch, as well as solid-fueled missiles that can be readied for launch more quickly. A more concerning aspect of the report is Iran's plan to establish new underground assembly sites. Iran's objective is to move its missile industry away from the reach of future strikes and make it harder for Israel and the United States to locate and destroy these production lines. Therefore, while recent attacks damaged Iran's missile infrastructure, Tehran appears to be learning from the experience and building the next generation of its missile industry deeper underground, making it more protected and difficult to eliminate.

The strategic implications could be significant. If Iran successfully restores its production capacity at an increasing rate, it may rebuild its missile stockpiles and gradually restore the firing capability lost in the attacks. The White House has neither confirmed nor denied the report, and the Prime Minister's office in Israel also declined to comment to The Wall Street Journal. The actual scale of Iranian production and the extent to which Tehran has rehabilitated its damaged industry remain unclear at this stage. However, if the report accurately reflects the intelligence picture, it points to a dramatic development: the war may have severely damaged Iran's missile program, but beneath the surface, Iran has already begun rebuilding it.