Iran regaining access to huge underground missile arsenal Trump claimed to 'obliterate'

 Iran is reportedly digging up its arsenal of missiles and other weapons from under the ground to intesify its efforts to defend itself against the U.S., according to a report by CNN.

The analysis looked at 69 tunnels across 18 missile bases and revealed that at least 50 of the tunnels had been cleared for access. This casts doubt over President Donald Trump's statements about obliterating Tehran's defense capabilities and raises questions over the war ending soon.

Satellite imagery reviewed by CNN shows massive digging efforts by trucks in Tehran, seemingly to unearth its missile arsenal.

"Their ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed," Trump had said in a White House press briefing earlier in April. Previously, the news outlet reported on how the U.S. and Iran were curtailing efforts by Iran to access its defense systems, including rockets and missiles, not by destroying them, but by blocking entrances to tunnels where the weapons were stored.

Iran is reportedly using dump trucks and bulldozers to repair the damange left by U.S. and Israeli missiles outside these tunnels to access the weapons inside. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth acknowledged that Iran was digging out its weapons but added that the country had "no ability to replace them."

This lack of options to replenish weapons might be an issue for the U.S. as well. The country is using its weapons at a much faster pace than production can keep up, and the Pentagon has already ordered additional weapons from Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

Only 17% of the U.S.' stockpiles have been replaced so far, according to an analysis by Center for Strategic and International Studies, causing strain not just to Washington, but also its allies in Ukraine and Taiwan.

Weapons experts told CNN that Iran has found ways to access its weapons despite attacks from the U.S. and Israel and will continue to do so in the future.

Yesterday, the U.S. military carried out new strikes in Iran, according to a U.S. official. The site targeted, which was near the Strait of Hormuz, posed a threat to U.S. forces and commercial traffic, the official said. The strikes also came a delicate time during peace talks between the two countries.

U.S. forces also shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones, according to Reuters, which first reported the strikes. The official, who spoke to the outlet on condition of anonymity, said the military site that was struck was an Iranian ground control station in Iran's Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.