Satellite imagery and assessments from Israeli and Western officials indicate that Iran has rapidly rebuilt infrastructure targeted by months of US and Israeli airstrikes, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal.

Satellite images from Planet Labs and Airbus document Iran repairing missile bases, a bombed bridge, and a Caspian Sea shipyard within weeks of the strikes. Repairs have been recorded at missile bases near Kangavar, Dezful, and Kermanshah. A bombed bridge was fixed within days, and partial reconstruction has been observed at a Caspian Sea shipyard linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Iran maintains one of the largest and most diverse ballistic missile arsenals in the Middle East, and its underground tunnel networks at mountain sites have long been recognized by Western intelligence as a hardening strategy designed to complicate aerial bombardment.

Israeli officials told the Journal that airstrikes frequently only collapsed tunnel entrances at mountain missile bases rather than destroying the sites outright, leaving weapons stored inside intact for Iran to later recover. Despite more than 20,000 strikes at the campaign's height, Iran has continued to land precise strikes on shipping and has conducted missile attacks on US allies including Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan. One such attack killed three US soldiers.

A former Israeli air and missile defense commander noted that Iran previously demonstrated strong industrial rebuilding capacity following the 2025 12-day war. The pace of recovery is prompting private frustration among Israeli officials, with one telling the Journal, "Iran is rebuilding everything," and expressing concern about the trajectory.

Some analysts say Iran may have stockpiled advanced components, such as carbon fiber parts, enabling short-term missile assembly even as full reconstruction of certain facilities could take years. Iran has spent over a decade developing domestic manufacturing for missile components, including solid-fuel propulsion and guidance systems, reducing reliance on foreign supply chains. Other advanced components could take years to replace.

The White House maintains that the campaign was a resounding victory, asserting it destroyed Iran's missile arsenal and production capabilities and sank its navy.

Iran's military infrastructure is proving more resilient than the US and Israeli campaigns intended, undercutting claims that the air campaign delivered a decisive blow. The gap between declared campaign outcomes and documented rebuilding on the ground mirrors a pattern seen in previous strikes on Iranian-linked facilities in Syria and Iraq, where sites were repaired within weeks or months. For oil markets already pricing supply risk from the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, evidence that Iran retains missile production know-how and repair capacity argues against any near-term de-escalation. If Iran's capacity to strike shipping and regional targets proves more durable than assumed, the current risk premium in crude may persist rather than fade.