Iran allegedly resumes ballistic missile production in underground facilities

Iran has resumed producing ballistic missiles by assembling stockpiled components in underground facilities, according to US and Middle Eastern intelligence findings cited by The Wall Street Journal.

The development undermines what American and ‘Israeli’ officials had described as a major success of their military campaign against Tehran’s missile infrastructure.

Despite extensive strikes on missile sites and industrial facilities early in the conflict, Iran is again building both liquid-propellant missiles—which require fueling shortly before launch—and solid-propellant missiles that can be stored ready to fire, unnamed officials familiar with the assessments told the WSJ.

“Iran has resumed its production of ballistic missiles using stockpiled components and working in underground facilities,” the officials said.

The work is taking place in hardened subterranean sites that have proven difficult to fully neutralize.

US and ‘Israeli’ forces targeted key production hubs and collapsed many tunnel entrances during the fighting, aiming to dismantle Iran’s ability to replenish its arsenal.

Intelligence assessments earlier indicated that large portions of Iran’s mobile launchers and prewar missile stockpile survived or could be recovered, with Iran regaining operational access to the majority of its underground storage and launch facilities.

Tehran has also sought materials from abroad to support the effort.

Shipments of chemicals used in solid propellant, including sodium perchlorate from Chinese suppliers, have previously been reported as part of efforts to rebuild depleted stocks after earlier rounds of conflict.

Analysts have noted that even limited access to such precursors could enable production of dozens to hundreds of medium-range missiles.

Iranian officials have publicly highlighted the resilience of their underground network.

In August, the armed forces chief of staff visited an underground ballistic missile production facility, describing it as one of dozens of such lines and stating that equipment quality and output had improved, with production increasing.

State media portrayed the sites as remaining beyond the reach of airstrikes.

The renewed assembly activity raises concerns about Iran’s capacity to sustain pressure on regional targets and U.S. forces.

While production rates remain constrained compared with prewar levels and depend on surviving components and external supply chains, the intelligence findings indicate that Tehran has partially reconstituted a capability that the US and ‘Israel’ had sought to eliminate.