Posted on 03/05/2026 5:00:36 PM PST by Twotone
As the war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran enters its sixth day, the rate of military resource depletion on both sides has emerged as a critical factor that could determine the outcome of the conflict.
Reza Talaei-Nik, a spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Defense, stated on the 3rd, “We have the capability to sustain an ‘offensive defense’ longer than the enemy expects in this war,” adding, “We have no intention of deploying all our advanced weapons and equipment from the outset.” This remark, implying that Iran has yet to use its “advanced weapons,” directly contradicts U.S. President Donald Trump’s earlier claim that “Iran’s navy, air force, and nearly all other military assets have been neutralized, with its missile stockpiles rapidly depleting.”
While Iran’s claims may contain exaggerated rhetoric, analysts suggest it is difficult to rule out the possibility that the country retains actual military capacity. This is partly due to its “asymmetric capabilities,” which have been maximized despite years of Western sanctions. According to a report published by the Hudson Institute, a U.S. Department of Defense think tank, in January, Iran exhausted 500 of its approximately 3,000 short- and medium-range ballistic missiles during the “12-day war” with Israel in June last year. However, it later replenished its arsenal by importing missile fuel components from countries like China. Daniel Shapiro, U.S. Deputy Minister of Defense, recently stated, “Iran currently has over 2,000 operational medium-range ballistic missiles.”
Among Iran’s missile arsenal, the “Fattah” series of hypersonic missiles is considered its “ace card.” The Fattah, meaning “conqueror” in Persian, flies at speeds of Mach 13–15 and is designed to alter its trajectory irregularly within the atmosphere, potentially neutralizing Israel’s Iron Dome and other ballistic missile defense systems. In fact, Iran deployed the Fattah-1 during its June 2024 airstrikes on Israel, with some warheads penetrating Israeli air defenses and striking areas of Tel Aviv.
The medium-range missiles Shahab-3 and Hormuzshahr, with a maximum range of 2,000 km, are also capable of targeting not only Israel but also parts of Gulf states and Türkiye. Additionally, the long-range cruise missile Soumar can travel over 2,500 km while flying at low altitudes, making detection and tracking difficult and enabling surprise attacks on U.S. military bases in the Middle East.
Iran’s drone capabilities, emphasizing “cost-effectiveness,” are also formidable. The Shahed series of loitering munitions, widely used in the Ukraine war, is a prime example. Costing around US$20,000 per unit, these drones force the U.S. and Gulf states to expend US$4 million interceptors, such as the Patriot missile system. Bloomberg reported, “If the current usage rate continues, Qatar’s Patriot missile inventory will last only four days.”
Since the 28th of last month, the U.S. military has launched attacks on Iran’s ballistic missile production and launch facilities using B-2 stealth bombers. However, most of these facilities are built underground, making complete destruction difficult. The New York Times (NYT) noted, “Destroying Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities has emerged as one of Trump’s key objectives, but achieving this without deploying ground forces will be challenging.”
Concerns are growing that prolonged conflict could accelerate the depletion of U.S. core military assets. However, President Trump claimed on his social media platform Truth Social on the 3rd, “The U.S. has virtually unlimited weapon supply capabilities.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated at a press conference on the 4th, “We are now in the early stages of operations, with more troops and firepower arriving,” adding, “We will allocate all the time necessary.” He also revealed, “We have eliminated the leader of the Iranian organization that attempted to assassinate Trump in 2024.”
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Jim
LMFAO... Israel and America could find the toilet their dear leader was sitting on and take him out... But they don’t know where their ‘advanced’ weapons are?
Too funny.
Sounds like idle boosting to me. Go ahead and sit on your ‘Advanced weapons’ . The Iranian people will thank you for saving them after they finish off your Islamic regime.
If Iran had wonder weapons they’d have shot them.
I hope you are right.
Baghdad Bob has an IRGC counterpart: Reza Talaei-Nik.
"Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels stoked fear with claims, beginning in 1943, of coming Wunderwaffen (wonder or miracle weapons) that would turn the tide and exact Vergeltung (vengeance or revenge) for the indiscriminate Allied bombing of German cities."
أكمي
Breakdown of characters:
أ (Alif + Hamza): Represents the ‘A’ sound.
ك (Kaf): Represents the ‘C’ (K) sound.
م (Meem): Represents the ‘M’ sound.
ي (Ya): Represents the ‘E’ (ee) sound.
Pronunciation: Ak-mee.
Not necessarily. Maybe they know we’re running low on missile interceptors, so they’re forcing us to use them up shooting down their crappy old stuff. They’re saving the fancy new missiles (assuming they exist, of course) for when our stock of interceptors is dangerously low. Remember last time around they were doing major damage to Israel — more than was reported — before agreeing to a ceasefire. They’ve said that this time there will be no ceasefire.
AGITPROP - brought to you by the mullah regime and their dear friends in the democrat party and their allies in the media
The Iranians could have bought some olde collector’s items Nazi Me-163 Komets..... and... and.... tooled them up.
After all the US retro’d and improved Iranian drones and have used them against.... Iran! Sure thing!
A doomsday device? Oohhh.
Now Iran has a deadly hypersonic tapeworm missile.
Too bad they forgot to develop or buy targeting ststem for it or any of their other missile launchers.
Bring it on goat humpers !!!
Unlaunched Iranian weapons are like ice cream in the hot dessert sand. They won’t last long if not used immediately.
They have targeting systems...however we have tech to fuddle their systems.
Oh yeah, and they've got a whole underground warehouse full of drones, and they're NOT just a bunch of graphical illusions that were cut and pasted.
Are the Iranians also holding back their super-secret, super-effective electronic warfare equipment that you were mentioning last week just before the war started? https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4368575/posts?page=14#14
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