A new report from the US Department of Defense Inspector General reveals that the war with Iran has led to "shortfalls" in munitions and a bottleneck in resupply, directly contradicting President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly denied that the US is facing shortages. Trump has claimed that US munitions supplies are "virtually unlimited" and dismissed reporting to the contrary as "fake news." The independent watchdog found that the US spent more than $22 billion on munitions from February through June, resulting in "strategic inventory shortfalls." The BBC has contacted the White House for comment on the discrepancy.
The report provides a first-of-its-kind, independent glimpse into US weapons stockpiles, data that is typically classified. Previous estimates have painted a dire picture of US shortages. Over the course of the war, US forces have expended vast quantities of both long-range ground attack systems and the air and missile defenses used to intercept incoming Iranian attacks. A late July estimate from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) found that stocks of some interceptors — such as the Patriot missile and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) — were significantly depleted, in some cases by more than half. The inspector general's report did not disclose exactly how many weapons remain, but it did note the inventory shortfalls and reveal "industrial base bottlenecks" for munitions resupply.
The report added that the defense department is now working to "streamline procurement processes and production lead times" to address the shortages and "respond rapidly to a contingency." Trump and other administration officials have sought to cast reports of shortages as false and "treasonous." In a 4 August X post, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described news reporting on the shortages as "not true." In a lengthy Truth Social post on 3 September, Trump claimed that the US had "virtually unlimited" amounts of ammunition and is "stockpiling and preparing for any contingency that could happen."
The watchdog's report also notes that equipment losses have totaled $3.7 billion, with another $7.4 billion in other expenditures. Overall, the US spent $33.4 billion (£24.7 billion) on the war from 28 February to 30 June. Among the losses have been four F-15e fighter jets, a highly advanced F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and 30 MQ-9 drones destroyed in "various circumstances." When US and Israeli strikes began, Trump repeatedly said that the conflict would be over within weeks. More recently, he said the conflict might not end until "right after" the November midterm elections in the US.
Polls show that the war is unpopular among Americans. One Reuters/Ipsos poll released in early September found that only 23% of Americans — and only half of Republicans — believe the US to be in a stronger position with Iran compared with before hostilities broke out.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk