The US military is running short of ammunition after its conflict with Iran, defence officials said, despite President Donald Trump‘s insistence that US stockpiles remain fully replenished.
In a report presented to Congress on Monday, the inspector said that between February 28 and June 30, Operation Epic Fury (OEF) had hit an estimated cost of $33.4billion (£24.8billion), including $22.3billion (£16.5billion) spent on expended munitions.
‘The munitions expenditure on OEF has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply,’ the report said.
OEF is the US name for its joint campaign with Israel to ‘destroy Iran’s ability to project military power’, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM).
To deal with shortfalls and delays, the Pentagon is ‘working to streamline procurement processes and production lead times, and to stockpile critical materials, components, and selected munitions,’ the report said.
Though it noted that expanding production capacities requires ‘significant lead time’.
The shortfall is likely to cause concern among governments like Ukraine and Taiwan, who rely on weapons purchases from the US to fight or deter much larger, hostile neighbors.
Ukraine urgently needs more interceptor missiles for US-made Patriot air defense systems in its war against Russia, while Taiwan depends on arms agreements with Washington to ward off China, which claims the self-ruled island as its own.
Smoke rises in Iran after reports of multiple US strikes on the city of Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, in July
A view of heavy structural damage at a destroyed residential building in Qeshm Island, Hormozgan Province, Iran, on Friday
Mr Trump has repeatedly brushed off concerns of depleted weapons stores during the six months of war in the Middle East, saying recently that the US has ‘virtually unlimited’ ammunition.
On Monday he posted on his Truth Social platform that the US is producing ‘more Exquisite and Elite Weapons than at any time in our History’.
CNN previously reported shortages of long-range guided missiles and air-defense interceptors had affected Mr Trump’s strategy in the conflict with Iran, with the US military having ‘nearly exhausted 80 per cent’ of its stock of THAAD interceptors.
During the first 24 hours of war against Iran, the US struck more than 1,000 targets, CENTCOM has said, and has not returned to such large-scale attacks in recent months.
The report identified losses to the American fleet, including four F-15s fighters destroyed, one F-35 fighter damaged, seven KC-135 tanker aircraft damaged and up to 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones destroyed.
It also confirmed that the US Navy’s main logistics hub in the region, located in Bahrain, had been targeted by Iran with drone and ballistic missile strikes.
Hundreds of buildings and structures at US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan have been damaged or destroyed by Iranian strikes during the conflict.
The report does not include those costs in its estimates, saying it is not yet clear if all the bases will be rebuilt, or who will foot the bill.
A sailor handles munitions on a flight desk of the USS George Washing in the Arabian Sea on Sunday
As of June 30, seven US service members had been killed in action and seven killed in non-hostile events during OEF combat operations, the report said.
An additional 417 service members were wounded in action, it added.
The US and Israel launched the war against Iran on February 28. For decades, Western powers have accused the Islamic republic of seeking nuclear weapons, a claim that Tehran categorically denies.
It comes as pump prices in the UK have hit new Iran highs as a result of the conflict. The cost of diesel reached 191.68p on Monday, while petrol was up to 169.68p, according to the RAC.
Those are the highest levels since August 2022, soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The motoring group warned that diesel is closing in on the all-time record of 199.05p set in June that year.
Oil prices have been surging again amid fears that Saudi Arabia could run out of export stocks in a matter of days if it does not repair a bombed pipeline.
Satellite images have revealed the extent of the damage to the 745-mile east-west oil pipeline after drones were launched from Iraq on Thursday, with a pumping station appearing badly charred.
The pipeline has helped Saudi Arabia – the world’s largest crude oil exporter – bypass the Strait of Hormuz by re-routing around four million barrels a day to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.
Riyadh decided to shut the key pipeline following the attack, threatening the loss of 4 per cent of global supplies and driving the price of crude higher.
If the pipeline remains shut, existing stocks at Yanbu could only support exports for around five to seven days, industry sources told Reuters.
The global energy market is already under severe strain after the Iran war triggered the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas normally flows.
