Washington Post: Pentagon and Trump Administration Concerned About Conflict with Iran Spiraling Out of Control
Tehran - BORNA - The U.S. newspaper The Washington Post reported that two days after the start of what it described as U.S.–Israeli aggression against Iran — and following the heavy blows they sustained as a result of Iran’s legitimate retaliatory strikes on their positions in the region — increasing concern has emerged inside the Pentagon and among some members of Donald Trump’s administration about the conflict escalating beyond control.
According to the newspaper, one source said: “There is a heated and pessimistic atmosphere among officials here.”
Informed sources said senior U.S. military and government leaders are worried that a war with Iran could last several weeks and place severe strain on their air defense ammunition stockpiles.
Another source told The Washington Post: “Their concern is that this conflict will last more than a few days. I don’t think people fully understand what this war has done to our munitions reserves. To ensure we intercept every missile fired at us, we often have to launch two or three anti-air interceptors.”
Additionally, Adam Smith, the senior Democratic member of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, said: “This operation will force the United States to consume even greater volumes of munitions stockpiles that were already under pressure.”
He added: “When a conflict is underway, we can’t tell Iran that because our missile defense system stocks have run out, we need to pause the fighting. This war will challenge our ability to defend whatever we need to defend. U.S. resources are being depleted.”
These remarks come as General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had warned the White House prior to the launch of the operation that ammunition shortages and the lack of broad allied support would significantly increase the risks of operations against Iran and endanger American troops.
Reports published by U.S. media indicate that the operation dubbed “Epic Wrath” against Iran, despite initial publicity, has not only failed to achieve the objectives envisioned by the White House but has also entangled Washington in a new quagmire in West Asia. The deaths of the first U.S. service members, the withholding of details regarding the location of casualties, and serious concerns among Pentagon commanders over the depletion of defensive capabilities against Iranian missile and drone attacks are all said to reflect miscalculations by Trump in confronting the Islamic Republic of Iran.
According to The Washington Post, the Pentagon on Sunday officially confirmed the deaths of three U.S. service members and the injury of five others during the ongoing clashes with Iran. This marks the first time Washington has announced human losses among its forces in the recent military operation against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
United States Central Command (CENTCOM), in a statement, said a number of personnel had also sustained injuries from shrapnel and explosions and were receiving medical treatment. Sources told The Washington Post that the three killed were part of a support unit stationed in Kuwait and served in the U.S. Army’s ground forces.
In an unusual move — and contrary to the Pentagon’s traditional practice of providing details about wartime casualties — the CENTCOM statement refrained from specifying the exact location where the three service members were killed. This media withholding has been interpreted as a sign of the complexity and extreme sensitivity of conditions facing U.S. forces in the Middle East.
Analysts believe this ambiguity is an attempt to manage domestic public opinion in the United States and to avoid highlighting the impact of Iranian strikes on U.S. positions and its allies.
Despite U.S. officials’ claims regarding the destruction of Iranian targets over the past two days, CENTCOM has been compelled to acknowledge the successful penetration of Iranian attacks against its own bases.
One informed source at U.S. operations centers admitted that overnight, “dozens and dozens” of missiles and attack drones were launched by Iran toward U.S. positions. Acknowledging Iran’s battlefield capabilities, the source said: “Iran is carrying out full-scale retaliation.”
The primary concern among American commanders has been the successful penetration of Iranian missiles and drones into critical U.S. bases. CENTCOM’s reference to “injuries caused by shrapnel” clearly indicates the success of some of these strikes, including attacks that hit the U.S. naval base in Bahrain. U.S. defensive vulnerabilities against Iranian drones have also become a major challenge.
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