Iran has renewed most of its missile stockpile and is close to reaching the number of missiles it had before Operation Rising Lion, Channel 13 News reported on Friday evening.
According to the report, six months after the 12-day war last June, the Iranians are working intensively on producing surface-to-surface missiles – and are expected to possess about 2,000 missiles capable of reaching Israel within a few months.
The report further stated that Israel is closely and anxiously monitoring Iran’s arms race. Most of the missiles the Iranians stored in tunnels were blocked but not damaged during Operation Rising Lion, and they are now refurbishing them. It was noted that the Iranians’ lessons from the war are to go underground and to place less importance on missile accuracy.
Meanwhile, the report said, the framework of Iran’s nuclear program is undergoing restoration, but there are no signs of renewed uranium enrichment.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian recently declared that while Iran seeks peace, it will not be coerced into giving up its nuclear and missile programs.
“We are willing to hold talks under international frameworks, but not if they say you can’t have a (nuclear) science, or the right to defend yourself (with missiles) or else we will bomb you,” Pezeshkian said.
His remarks came after US President Donald Trump stated that Iran had been asking whether American sanctions could be lifted.
Pezeshkian previously declared that Tehran would rebuild its nuclear sites “stronger than before,” following the Israeli and American strikes that targeted key facilities.
“By destroying buildings… we will not be set back,” Pezeshkian said in a video posted to his official website, adding that Iranian scientists still possess the necessary nuclear expertise.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News’ North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)