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Damage to Iran's War-Shattered Economy Will Take Years to Repair
(Wall Street Journal) Sune Engel Rasmussen - Iranian leaders have portrayed the current ceasefire as a victory against an overwhelming U.S. and Israeli onslaught. But they now face a towering postwar reconstruction challenge that is putting pressure on them to negotiate for sanctions relief. The U.S. and Israel hit 17,000 targets over five weeks of war, including factories; rail, road and port infrastructure; government buildings; and military facilities. The air campaign not only hit infrastructure but the facilities producing steel that is needed to repair it and operations such as petrochemicals that bring in the foreign currency to pay for the work. During the war, Iran fired thousands of missiles and drones at Gulf states and Israel. The strikes caused lasting damage to some facilities but nothing nearly as comprehensive as the wreckage in Iran.