Iran has restarted drone production, is moving to restore full capabilities faster than expected — CNN report

Iran has been hard at work rebuilding its military capabilities and has restarted drone production in the weeks since a ceasefire with the US and Israel took effect on April 8, CNN reports, citing US intelligence sources.

The speed and scale at which Iran is restoring its drone and missile capabilities has taken the US intelligence community by surprise, the report says, as estimates had suggested it would take longer.

One US official tells CNN that Iran could fully restore its pre-war capabilities in as little as six months, saying Tehran has “exceeded all timelines the IC [intelligence community] had for reconstitution.”

The shortened timeline is due in part to assistance that Iran has received from Russia and China, the sources tell CNN, alleging that Beijing has been supplying the Islamic Republic with missile components since war broke out on February 28. China’s foreign ministry denies this, claiming the CNN report is “not based on facts.”

The accelerated pace at which Iran is moving to restore its arsenal and capabilities suggests that it would still be a formidable foe, able to wreak havoc on the region should the US make good on repeated threats to begin its military campaign anew, the sources say.

US Central Command declines to comment on the report, and a Pentagon spokesman insists that the US military “has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing.”