Fact Check: Did Trump say Iran had far more missiles than anyone thought?

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump has actively addressed the ongoing US-Israel joint military campaign against Iran. The operations, described as ['major combat operations' by the POTUS, have escalated into a broader conflict.

Recently, a post went viral on social media claiming that Trump said Iran had far more missiles than anyone thought. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below.

Claim: Trump said Iran had far more missiles than anyone thought

An X post made a claim on Monday, March 9, that read, "President Trump says Iran had far more missiles than anyone thought." The viral post garnered more than a million views on X, and more than 30,000 users liked the viral post.

Notably, Iran has mounted sustained retaliatory strikes using ballistic missiles, drones, and other munitions. These target Israel directly and US military bases/assets across the region, alongside attacks on US-allied Gulf states hosting American forces.

Iran's retaliation started almost immediately after the initial US-Israeli strikes, within hours on February 28, and has continued in waves, often 24x7 to overwhelm defenses.

Moreover, Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has hardened positions, rejecting negotiations and vowing endurance. 

The POTUS has described progress as 'far ahead of schedule', threatened 'twenty times harder' strikes if blocked, and suggested the conflict could end 'very soon', while warning of escalation.

Fact Check: True, Trump did make the statement

The claim made in the online post is true, as Donald Trump did make the statement during a press briefing on Monday, amid the ongoing Operation Epic Fury.

Trump described Iran's missile capabilities as unexpectedly large, and said they were "ready... with all these missiles, far more than anyone thought".

The POTUS is poised for an imminent attack on US and allied targets. This aligns precisely with the post's claim and has been widely circulated in clips from the event.

The remark came during Donald Trump's update on the conflict's progress, where he emphasized the scale of Iran's arsenal as a surprise revelation from intelligence gathered post-strikes.

The President said, "They were always saying no, there was no reason. Well, I'll give you the best reason of all, within a week, if they were going to attack us 100 percent. They already had all these missiles, far more than anyone thought, and then we are gonna attack." 

Meanwhile, Trump tied this to claims that 80 percent of Iran's missile launchers have been neutralized, framing it as evidence of the operation's success.

Interestingly, pre-war US assessments estimated Iran's ballistic missile stockpile at around 3,000, but Trump implied post-strike discoveries revealed hidden caches or production exceeding expectations — possibly including undeclared hypersonic or smuggled variants.