Wall Street Journal Reveals: U.S. Concerned About Depleting Its Munitions in War with Iran
Tehran - BORNA - The newspaper The Wall Street Journal emphasized in a report that the United States is seeking to achieve its military objectives against Iran before its critical munitions stockpiles are significantly reduced.
The report states that when the highest-ranking U.S. military official outlined to Donald Trump, President of the United States, the risks of launching a broad and prolonged attack against Iran, one of the main concerns was whether U.S. ammunition reserves would be sufficient.
A senior U.S. official said that one of the reasons for the preemptive strike by the United States and the Zionist regime was to reduce Iran’s ability to carry out retaliatory attacks using its missiles and drones. However, the article stressed that the exact size of U.S. air defense interceptor stockpiles — which the Pentagon refers to as “magazine depth” — is classified, and repeated regional conflicts have gradually diminished these reserves.
One of the main themes of the report is the pressure on U.S. air defense systems. Kelly Grieco, a senior researcher at the Stimson Center, said that defensive interceptors can be depleted quickly and are now being used at a rate faster than they can be replaced. The Wall Street Journal referred to the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system in Israel and Jordan, adding that maintaining sufficient stockpiles of this system is also important for U.S. deterrence in South Korea and Guam.
The report also pointed to shortages of Patriot and Standard interceptors used against Iranian missiles and drones. Patriot systems target lower-altitude threats, while SM-3 missiles are capable of intercepting ballistic missiles outside the Earth’s atmosphere. In addition, the United States has used sea-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles and air-launched weapons against Iranian targets.
Becca Wasser, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said that Tomahawk missiles have been used extensively in global operations, including in West Asia. She emphasized that these weapons would also be critically needed in the event of a potential conflict with China and suggested that the Pentagon increase production and procurement to compensate for shortages.
The article also referred to the participation of the Zionist regime in strikes against Iran’s military leadership, which may have reduced part of the pressure on U.S. offensive stockpiles. However, it reported that the occupying regime also faces concerns about its own reserves, including shortages of Arrow 3 interceptors and air-launched ballistic missiles. Jonathan Conricus, former spokesperson of the Israeli army, said that ultimately the conflict comes down to numbers — the balance between available interceptor missiles and the opposing side’s missile launchers.
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