Washington, March 19
Iran’s military and strategic capabilities have been significantly degraded by recent US-led operations, but the regime remains intact and continues to pose a serious threat to American interests and regional stability, US intelligence officials told lawmakers.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said the Iranian regime has been weakened but not eliminated.
“The IC (intelligence community) assesses the regime in Iran appears to be intact but largely degraded due to attacks on its leadership and military capabilities,” she told the Senate Select Intelligence Committee on Wednesday (local time).
She mentioned that Iran’s conventional military power has been severely reduced.
“Its conventional military power projection capabilities have largely been destroyed, leaving limited options,” Gabbard said, adding that “Iran’s strategic position has been significantly degraded.”
However, officials warned that Tehran retains both intent and capacity to reconstitute its military strength over time.
“The IC assesses that if a hostile regime survives, it will likely seek to begin a years-long effort to rebuild its military, missiles, and UAV forces,” she said.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe underscored that Iran remains a long-term adversary.
“I think Iran has been a constant threat to the United States for an extended period of time and posed an immediate threat at this time,” he told lawmakers.
He also highlighted concerns about Iran’s missile ambitions.
“If left unimpeded… they would have the ability to range missiles to the continental US,” Ratcliffe said, referring to Tehran’s advancing missile and space launch technologies.
The intelligence assessment noted that Iran continues to engage in active conflict with the United States and its allies.
“Iran and its proxies continue to attack US and allied interests in the Middle East,” Gabbard said.
Despite military setbacks, the regime is expected to remain resilient internally, even as economic and political pressures mount.
“The IC assesses that internal tensions are likely to increase as Iran’s economy worsens,” she said.
At the same time, US officials emphasised that recent operations have disrupted Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities.
“Degrading Iran’s missile production capabilities… is so important to our national security,” Ratcliffe said.
Independent assessments presented during the hearing broadly aligned with that view, indicating that while Iran’s capabilities have been damaged, they are not permanently eliminated.
The intelligence community also pointed to Iran’s continued technological base, including its space launch programme, as a pathway to developing long-range missile systems in the future.
“The IC assesses that Iran has previously demonstrated space launch and other technology it could use to begin to develop a militarily viable ICBM,” Gabbard said.
Senators from both parties pressed intelligence officials on whether the threat from Iran had been fully neutralised. Many of them expressed concern over the gap between political claims and intelligence assessments.
The Congressional hearing comes amid ongoing military escalation in the Middle East following US-led strikes under Operation Epic Fury, which targeted Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure.
