WASHINGTON — U.S. officials and other sources say Iran is using the current ceasefire with the United States to recover weapons it had concealed, intensifying efforts to excavate missiles and other munitions hidden underground or beneath rubble from earlier U.S. and Israeli strikes.
U.S. officials believe Tehran is working quickly to rebuild drone and missile capabilities so it could resume attacks across the region if President Donald Trump opts to restart military operations. Trump was scheduled to meet with his national security team Thursday to review options — including renewed military action — aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and removing any Iranian nuclear material, a U.S. official said. Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, was to brief the president and his advisers on the blockade and operational choices, and Trump is expected to make a decision in the coming days.
A White House official said Trump’s planned mid‑May trip to China, to meet President Xi Jinping, is a consideration in his deliberations; that visit, already delayed once because of the war in Iran, remains a priority, the official said.
Iran began blocking the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. and Israel launched a bombing campaign on Feb. 28, a move that pushed global oil prices higher. The U.S. responded with a naval blockade of Iranian ports in the strait; Central Command officials said 41 vessels had been redirected from transiting the waterway as of Wednesday. A temporary ceasefire went into effect April 8 to allow negotiations to reopen the strait, but talks have not yet produced a resolution.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. has observed signs that Iran is trying to rebuild its military capabilities. “We know what military assets you are moving and where you are moving them to,” he said April 16, adding that Iran is “digging out” launchers and missiles from bombed and devastated facilities while U.S. forces remain capable. A Defense Department spokesperson pointed to Hegseth’s remarks when asked for comment.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said U.S. military efforts have met the administration’s objectives: she listed destroyed ballistic missiles, demolished production facilities, a weakened navy and diminished proxy forces. Kelly added that Trump prefers diplomacy and has directed negotiators to pursue a deal that would prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt has suggested the conflict could be concluded by the time of Trump’s rescheduled China trip, saying on March 25 the administration estimated a roughly four‑ to six‑week timeline, though the impact of the ceasefire and internal deliberations on that schedule is unclear.
Iran has asserted it still has the capacity to defend its interests and wage war. U.S. intelligence assessments cited by officials indicate Tehran retained many capabilities after the strikes, including substantial portions of its ballistic missile inventory, more than half of its air force aircraft and more than half of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ naval components.
Officials and other sources say Iran has intensified recent efforts to retrieve buried missiles and munitions as the chance of renewed hostilities looms and negotiations stall. Experts and congressional aides told U.S. outlets that Tehran likely preserved portions of its missile forces by using decoys, dispersing weapons across the country and concealing or burying missiles and launchers before and during the fighting.
While acknowledging that U.S. and Israeli strikes significantly reduced Iran’s arsenal, administration officials say Tehran still retains some capabilities. President Trump said in the Oval Office that “about 82% are gone” regarding missiles, and that most drones had been eliminated. Marco Rubio, serving as interim national security adviser, told reporters Iran still holds roughly half its missile stock, noting the country’s domestic economic and political challenges even as much of its military infrastructure has been damaged.