Iran's missile and drone production currently exceeds the rate at which the Islamic Republic deploys the hardware, a senior advisor to the chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed.
Brigadier General Mohammad-Reza Naqdi, a former commander of the Basij volunteer force, made the claim during a televised interview on Tuesday.
"We produce ballistic missiles at a rate exceeding the one at which they are deployed, and deliver them to the Islamic Republic's Armed Forces. In the drone sector too, our production capacity is far greater than the rate at which the aircraft are deployed," he said, as quoted by Press TV.
Naqdi added that Iran could sustain retaliatory strikes over an extended period. "Even if the war lasts for several years, our ballistic missiles will continue to rain down on the enemy," he said.
The IRGC official also drew a comparison between Iran's military spending and that of the United States.
"The military we are currently fighting has an annual budget one hundred times larger than the annual budget of our Armed Forces," he said, framing this as evidence of the Iranian Armed Forces' resilience against a better-funded adversary.
Naqdi further said the IRGC had been tasked with developing the capability to conduct operations on enemy territory.
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"We must be capable of taking operations into enemy territory and conducting them on the enemy's soil, far from our own territory," he said, describing this as part of an "offensive doctrine" the Corps must develop.
The claim comes as days ago multiple reports suggested that the US military has used nearly 80% of its THAAD interceptor inventory and roughly half its Patriot interceptors since the war with Iran began, with senior commanders warning that Pentagon munitions stockpiles are now dangerously low.
The Centre for Strategic and International Studies had estimated Washington held around 2,200 Patriot missiles and 452 THAAD interceptors before the conflict started, according to CNN.
The outlet said Gulf allies have also raised concerns that the depleted stockpiles could hamper their own ability to intercept Iranian retaliation should Trump choose to escalate the conflict further.
ALSO READ: Is US Running Low On Munitions? Trump Says 'Far More Than Needed', Shares AI Iran Strike Images
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