The US is reportedly running out of ammo as Iran conflict drags on

Recent combat operations with Iran have further depleted the United States military’s already reduced stockpiles of sophisticated missile interceptors, potentially increasing risk to American personnel if conflict resumes, according to a new assessment.

Diminished supplies of Patriot and THAAD interceptors could compel the U.S. and its Middle Eastern partners to accept greater risks to preserve those air defense systems, the analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, concluded. For instance, American forces might deploy fewer missiles against incoming Iranian drones and missiles, increasing the probability that one will penetrate defenses.

“That percentage may not go up a lot, but it goes up a little,” said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and now senior adviser at CSIS who co-authored Monday’s report with research associate Chris H. Park.

The concern intensified when the U.S. military announced Tuesday that it had intercepted “multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on U.S. forces based in the Middle East.”

The country’s sophisticated weapons inventories have emerged as a contentious issue in the five-month-long conflict, alongside threats to American service members’ safety, elevated gasoline prices, and rising taxpayer costs. The war has faced opposition from many Americans and is creating political challenges for President Donald Trump and Republicans before November’s midterm congressional elections.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, informed President Trump that the nation’s current munitions stockpile levels could potentially affect military operations against Iran, according to a U.S. official.

The official, speaking under the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the discussions, confirmed the warning was conveyed as part of Caine’s standard responsibilities of furnishing military guidance and strategic options to the president.

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The Pentagon, however, moved swiftly to counter concerns that its operational capabilities have been weakened.

“America’s military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing,” Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said in a statement Tuesday. “We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests.”

Although tensions between the U.S. and Iran had temporarily eased in the days preceding Tuesday’s attempted strikes, the Islamic Republic retains the capacity to carry out devastating attacks. Iran launched missiles and drones at a base in Jordan on July 17, claiming the lives of three U.S. troops.

A further American soldier was killed the following day in Iraq during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone, raising the overall conflict death toll to 18 U.S. service members. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth informed lawmakers last week that the conflict has resulted in an estimated $37.5 billion in costs.

The Pentagon is requesting $67 billion from Congress to rebuild the military following the war, which would cover funding for additional advanced munitions, including Patriots and THAADs, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors.

Congressional Democrats frequently point to the depletion of such limited weapons as a critical measure against the war, which Trump initiated without congressional authorization alongside Israel on Feb. 28.

The situation has also sparked worries that the U.S. military would face reduced firepower in any prospective future confrontation with China. CSIS cautioned in May that restocking supplies of Patriots, THAADs, and Tomahawk cruise missiles could require at least three years.