Iran still turning out up to 50 ballistic missiles a month and has about 1,700 left, Western intel says

Eight months into the war, Iran's conventional military is mostly destroyed, but the regime is still building ballistic missiles at about half its prewar pace, according to Western intelligence estimates reported Wednesday by Bloomberg and the Times of Israel.

An unnamed Western official said Iran is producing up to 50 ballistic missiles a month and probably still has at least 1,700 in its stockpile. Bloomberg estimated Iran has fired more than 4,900 Shahed drones and at least 2,200 ballistic missiles since the joint U.S.-Israel campaign began on Feb. 28. Defending against them has used up at least 1,000 Patriot interceptors, which cost about $4 million each and are built at a rate of roughly 650 a year.

On the same day, Iranian state-linked media showed off a new underground "missile city" run by the Revolutionary Guards' Aerospace Force, said to hold ballistic and cruise missiles and their launchers. The IRGC has said all missile and drone production will be moved underground to protect it from U.S. and Israeli strikes.

Iran's top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, said on Lebanon's pro-Hezbollah Al Mayadeen TV that not "a single particle" of enriched uranium will be allowed to leave the country. He warned that any new U.S. strike would be answered with attacks on American bases "far away."

Tehran is also furious about the $20 million reward Washington is offering for information on its nuclear program. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called it "repugnant" and asked the United Nations to condemn it.