Trump Says Iran Left with Just 21 Percent of Its Missile Stockpile

(MENAFN) President Donald Trump declared Friday that Iran has been stripped of the vast majority of its missile and drone capabilities following months of sustained military strikes, asserting that Tehran now controls only a fraction of its once-formidable arsenal.

"Most of the drone factories have been knocked out, most of the launching pads have been knocked out, and most of the missile manufacturing areas have been knocked out," Trump said in a pre-released excerpt from an interview with media scheduled to air Sunday.

While acknowledging that Iran retains residual military capacity, Trump was emphatic about the scale of degradation inflicted on its forces.

"They still have capacity. They have some missiles, they have some drones," he said.

"I would say percentage-wise, maybe 21-22% of their missiles, it's a lot of missiles, but it's not what it was when we first attacked," Trump added.

Asked why Iran — despite what he characterized as mounting desperation — had not yet agreed to a permanent end to the war that erupted on Feb. 28, Trump pointed to national pride as the central obstacle.

"They're proud, and there are things they never thought they'd be doing that they're going to have to do. They've got no choice, and it takes a little while," he said.

When pressed on why he had failed to secure a more favorable nuclear agreement after withdrawing from the original Iran nuclear deal during his first term, Trump was measured in his response.

"It takes years to do these things. These people have been fighting for 47 years," he said.

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