Washington, 6 March 2026 (dpa/MIA) - The United States believes it holds a clear military advantage in the war against Iran and is prepared for a prolonged campaign.

"We've got no shortage of munitions," US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told a press conference on Thursday. "Our stockpiles of defensive and offensive weapons allow us to sustain this campaign as long as we need to."

Hegseth was responding to concerns raised by some Democrats, who have recently voiced alarm over the large amount of ammunition the United States has been using in the conflict.

"Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a really bad miscalculation for the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] in Iran," Hegseth said.

According to Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), US forces have struck nearly 200 targets deep inside Iran over the past 72 hours, including around Tehran.

Only in the past hour, stealth bombers of the type B-2 dropped dozens of bunker-busting bombs weighing around 2,000 pounds (about 900 kilograms) each on deeply buried launch facilities for ballistic missiles, Cooper said.

Iran's navy has also been hit hard, Cooper said, adding that more than 30 vessels have been destroyed or sunk. Most recently, an Iranian drone carrier "roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier" was struck. CENTCOM said on X that the carrier was now on fire.

Photo: dpa