HONG KONG, March 20. /TASS/. Iran’s stockpiles of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will allow it to continue military operations for at least two or three months, while US forces are running low on interceptors, Hu Bo, director of the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative, said, as quoted by the South China Morning Post.

The expert noted that Iran’s stock of ballistic missiles has likely fallen to below 1,000 units, based on open-source intelligence. However, Iran holds an advantage in UAVs. "Iran’s drones are easier to produce and deploy, suggesting a relatively ample stockpile. In the short term, drone supplies are unlikely to face significant constraints," Hu Bo said.

He added that at this rate, "Iran could sustain its operations for the next two to three months if there is no internal shake-up." "The [goal of the] US completely destroying Iran’s missile capability is unrealistic, given the remaining ones are hard to find or strictly guarded," the expert noted. Hu Bo said that Iran’s low-cost Shahed-136 drones, priced between $20,000 to $50,000 each, are being countered by US-made Patriot and THAAD air defense systems, each costing several million dollars.

Experts say Iran’s key advantage is control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which oil flows. Yue Gang, a retired colonel of China’s People's Liberation Army, told the newspaper that Iran "has other tools to control the strait besides drones and missiles, such as naval mines." "The decisive factor for when the war will end is not ammunition, but political will - whether Trump wants to push the conflict to the bitter end," he emphasized.

Yang Shu, former dean of Central Asia studies at Lanzhou University, said the United States "has made a serious strategic mistake" by underestimating Iran’s defense capabilities. Systems like THAAD cannot provide 100% protection, and even a single strike can cause significant losses, he noted. Yang Shu also highlighted Iran’s heavy reliance on drones to strike US forces.