Iran said still able to produce missiles and drones, is being armed by Russia

Iran has preserved its missile and drone factories and can replenish its supply of the weapons, unnamed Western officials told Bloomberg in a Saturday report, with one official saying Russia was also providing the Islamic Republic with missiles. The report comes amid ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran, and just days after American media reported that the US military had been told to plan a return to conflict , reportedly asking for several days of intensive strikes on Iranian energy sites as well as missile and drone arsenals. Trump himself has said that the US will not strike Iran before the November 3 US midterm elections. According to Bloomberg, Iran has spent the last several months of relative quiet to rearm and rebuild its damaged weapons industry, with officials telling the outlet that the country remains “well-stocked” with both ballistic missiles and anti-ship weapons, and can “quickly add more.” The officials said Iran has enough firepower to effectively retaliate if the US renews strikes against it. One official said that Moscow is providing Tehran with missiles. The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms The outlet noted that the officials’ assessment contradicts comments by Trump and his staff, including US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said on September 30 that the US had destroyed the Iranians’ “military industrial capacity” and “their entire defense base.” A ballistic missile fired from Iran, as seen over Jerusalem, April 7, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) In a statement quoted by Bloomberg, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly “rejected that assessment” by the unnamed officials, the outlet said. “First, President Trump obliterated Iran’s nuclear facilities during Operation Midnight Hammer,” Bloomberg quoted Kelly as saying, in reference to US strikes during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June 2025. Advertisement “Then, Operation Epic Fury successfully destroyed the conventional shield that Iran sought to create over a nuclear program, including their ballistic missiles, production facilities, and navy,” Kelly said, referring to the war launched by Israel and the US against Iran on February 28 this year. Report: US pushed Israel to strike Iran alone Meanwhile, the Hebrew-language daily Maariv reported Saturday that in recent weeks, the US had been pushing Israel to launch strikes on Iran on its own, without its military joining in. The report, which did not cite any sources, said Trump wanted Israel to take the lead on striking Iran, amid reports that Tehran is quickly rearming, since he did not want to take political heat in the US for restarting the war right before the November midterm vote. The daily said IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir pushed back, warning that such action would likely lead to the postponement of Israel’s October 27 Knesset election. It said Washington had backed off from the proposal for now. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, right, meets US Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper in Israel in a photo published on August 10, 2026. (IDF) The Maariv report came a day after Channel 12 reported that senior US officers told Zamir earlier this week that the White House and Pentagon had instructed them to prepare for a massive attack on Iran within three weeks, a timespan that ends shortly before the midterms. The outlet similarly said Zamir had told his American counterparts that such an attack could cause the Israeli election to be postponed. It cited a senior US official and another official. Jerusalem reportedly assesses that Iran would respond to an American strike with massive missile fire at Israel. 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Sign in to stop seeing this Most Popular 1 PM’s ex-military secretary: Netanyahu prioritized political survival when he could have saved hostages’ lives 2 US imposes sanctions on ICC, hours after Nobel award to former judge 3 Anti-Israel groups urge boycott of Andrea Bocelli’s Jordan concert; he played Tel Aviv in 2022 4 US said preparing options to renew Iran war, including plan for 3 days of intense strikes 5 Police said to believe there is enough evidence to charge PM’s chief of staff for altering records 6 Netanyahu’s former military secretary alleges attempt to alter October 7 records 7 Anti-Israel Greens’ chief Polanski loses UK parliamentary election to Labour candidate 8 EgyptAir pilot sparks fear after posting El Al plane video with threatening speech on Oct. 7 read more: Israel & the Region 2026 US-Israel war with Iran 2025 Israel-Iran war Iran Russia ballistic missiles Bloomberg 2026 US midterm elections Eyal Zamir Donald Trump Maariv If you’d like to comment, join The Times of Israel Community. 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