US intelligence agencies believe that about half of Iran's missile launchers are intact, and its drones number in the thousands, CNN reported.
According to US intelligence data cited by the media, approximately 50% of Iran's total drone capacity remains operational. A significant number of cruise missiles located along the country's coast are intact.
Iran's massive response to the US-Israeli military operation has confused US administration officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegsett, writes Time magazine.
According to the publication, the “whirlwind of retaliatory strikes“ against American targets in the region has dispelled any idea that Tehran would limit itself to show-off strikes after the attack. As the magazine explains, during working meetings before the military operation, Hegseth expressed the opinion that the carefully calibrated use of force would not escalate into a full-scale armed conflict, since Iran had demonstrated a restrained response to previous actions by the United States and Israel.
“He expected the Iranians to resist, one way or another. But when they began attacking almost the entire region, it seemed to him: “Wow, we're really in for this”, a source familiar with the secretary's reasoning told the publication.
The Pentagon denied this. “Long before the start of Operation “Epic Fury“ "We anticipated, simulated different scenarios and were fully prepared for any Iranian response, from the mildest to the most extreme," Deputy Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Sean Parnell told the publication.
“Nothing Iran does surprises us. We are prepared, we are dominant and we are winning,“ he added.
On March 31, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that Iran's strategy is to exhaust the potential of the Israeli and American armed forces to the maximum.