The claim and the record share a date, which is what makes this checkable rather than an argument about trends.
On July 24 the president said Iran had 'lost its naval and air capabilities' and that 'Iran has very few drones left, despite media reports to the contrary' [1].
The Critical Threats Project's tracking for July 24 records Iranian forces claiming drone attacks on five bases in four countries: Sheikh Isa in Bahrain, Muwaffaq Salti in Jordan, al Udeid in Qatar, and Camp Arifjan and Camp Buehring in Kuwait [2]. Iranian state media published satellite imagery claiming a ballistic missile had struck Ali al Salem, also in Kuwait [2].
Claims by a combatant about its own strikes deserve scepticism, and this account does not treat them as proven. What is not an Iranian claim is the interception: on July 24 the Kurdistan Counter-Terrorism Service intercepted five to six explosive-laden one-way attack drones over Erbil [2]. Those were counted by the force that shot them down.
The stockpile question is wider than drones. Iran held roughly 2,500 Kheybar Shekan medium-range ballistic missiles before the February 2026 war; advanced variants have evaded US defenses and maneuver in their terminal phase at speeds up to 6,000 miles an hour, and Iran may currently be assembling more from components stored underground [3].
Degradation is real - US officials say American forces have struck more than 1,000 targets in this phase of the campaign [3]. 'Very few drones left' is a claim about a particular day, and on that day they were still flying [2].
