WASHINGTON: US munitions stockpile leaks prompted President Donald Trump to order new investigations into Pentagon disclosures during the Iran war.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday citing administration officials and said Trump acted after weeks of reports about depleted US supplies.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the military retained enough firepower for any presidentially ordered operation.
However, exact Pentagon inventories remain classified, preventing independent confirmation of competing shortage and sufficiency claims.
Trump separately wrote on Truth Social that medium-grade stocks were effectively unlimited. He acknowledged that high-end inventories remained below desired levels.
Reuters reported Tuesday that the Army had consumed much of its long-range precision missile inventory during five months of war.
Two sources told Reuters that virtually all available ATACMS and Precision Strike Missiles had been used. Reuters had not reviewed the supply figures, while the Pentagon did not disclose remaining quantities.
Read: US Iran War Cost Put at $37.5 Billion by Hegseth
The Journal said the administration sought $52.9 billion for munitions and $67 billion for Iran-related costs. Of the latter sum, $21 billion would replenish depleted stocks.
Meanwhile, a CSIS assessment said replacing four heavily used missile systems could take at least two years. Some inventories could require more than three years to return to pre-war levels, the think tank found.
This production gap supports Tehran’s public strategy of forcing Washington to expend costly, slow-to-replace weapons. Yet Iranian claims about American depletion do not establish either military’s actual inventory.
Carnegie estimates a Shahed-136 drone costs $20,000 to $50,000, while some Iranian ballistic missiles cost $1 million to $2 million.
Read: US Seeks $18.2 Billion to replenish Iran War Interceptors – Bloomberg
It said layered defenses can use fighters, electronic warfare and cheaper interceptors alongside premium systems. Consequently, a low-cost attack does not automatically force an expensive interceptor launch.
However, repeated mixed attacks can still strain readiness, radar coverage and replacement capacity.
