The United States has emerged from its 39-day war against Iran with critically depleted munitions stockpiles and insufficient production capacity to rapidly replenish them — a vulnerability that Chinese military experts say could prove decisive in any future conflict with a major power adversary. According to a report published Tuesday by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the brief but intense conflict exposed deep structural weaknesses in American military readiness. The findings have drawn close attention from Chinese military analysts, who see in them a telling preview of how a potential confrontation with Beijing might unfold. Missile Inventories Cut in Half The scale of munitions expenditure during the Iran war was staggering. The CSIS report estimates that during the ceasefire period, the U.S. consumed roughly half of its Patriot air defence missiles and approximately half of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) interceptors — systems that form...
Forty-seven years after its founding, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) remains one of the most powerful and consequential institutions in Iran. But how was it created, who signed its first orders, and why was a heated debate over whether it should answer to the government ultimately resolved in favor of the Supreme Leader? Javad Mansouri, the IRGC's very first commander, sat down with Khabar Online to answer those questions on the anniversary of the Corps' establishment. Planning Before the Revolution According to Mansouri, the idea of forming a dedicated revolutionary force predated the Islamic Revolution itself. Speaking to Khabar Online, he explained that in 1978 — before the Shah's regime had fallen — he and a group of fellow activists in Tehran and other cities reached a shared conclusion: every Iranian revolution or popular movement over the preceding century had ultimately been hijacked by outside forces. From the Constitutional Revolution to the national...