Iran war has led to US munitions shortfalls, Pentagon inspector confirms

ByBernd Debusmann Jr White House reporter.

Key points

• Among the losses have been four F-15e fighter jets, a highly advanced F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and 30 MQ-9 drones destroyed in "various circumstances".
• A separate estimate published on Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office put the total cost of the war higher, at $38bn.
• In a 4 August X post, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described news reporting on the shortages as "not true".
• But the independent watchdog remarked the US spent more than $22 billion on munitions from February through to June, leading to "strategic inventory shortfalls".
• The watchdog's report additionally notes that equipment losses have totalled $3.7bn, with another $7.4bn in other expenditures.

In practice, the US defence department's inspector general notes the war with Iran has led to "shortfalls" in munitions and a bottleneck in resupply, contradicting President Donald Trump who has repeatedly denied the US is facing shortages.

Trump has asserted US munitions supplies are "virtually unlimited" and stated reporting otherwise is "fake news".

When asked regarding the watchdog's report, the White House stated the US had "more than enough" munitions.

Meanwhile, the report provides a first-of-its-kind, independent glimpse into US weapons stockpiles, data that is typically classified. Previous estimates have painted a dire picture of the US shortages.

Over the course of the war, US forces have expended vast quantities of both long-range ground attack systems and the air and missile defences applied to intercept incoming Iranian attacks.

For context, a late July estimate from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, discovered that stocks of some interceptors – such as the Patriot missile and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD – were significantly depleted, in some cases by more than half.

Notably, the inspector general's report did not disclose exactly how plenty of of the weapons remain.

It did, nevertheless, note the inventory shortfalls and reveal "industrial base bottlenecks" for munitions resupply.

For context, the report continued that the defence department is now working to "streamline procurement processes and production lead times" to address the shortages and "respond rapidly to a contingency". The White House has rejected the watchdog's assessment.

"The United States military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and stockpiles to serve all of the Commander-in-Chief's strategic goals and beyond, " spokeswoman Anna Kelly remarked in an official note on Tuesday.

Trump and other administration authorities have additionally sought to cast reports of shortages as false and "treasonous".

And in a lengthy Truth Social post on 3 September, Trump asserted that the US had "virtually unlimited" amounts of ammunition and is "stockpiling and preparing for any contingency that could happen".

Meanwhile, the watchdog's report additionally notes that equipment losses have totalled $3.7bn, with another $7.4bn in other expenditures. Overall, the US spent $33.4bn (£24.7bn) on the war from 28 Feb to 30 Jun.

For context, a separate estimate published on Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office put the total cost of the war higher, at $38bn. It includes replaced expended munitions and equipment lost in battle, climbed flying hours and greater fuel costs.

When US and Israeli strikes began, Trump repeatedly remarked that the conflict would be over within weeks.

More lately, he stated the conflict might not end until "right after" the November midterm elections in the US. Polls show that the war is unpopular among Americans.

One Reuters/Ipsos poll published in early September indicated that only 23% of Americans – and only half of Republicans – believe the US to be in a stronger position with Iran compared with before hostilities broke out.

For now, iran war has led to US munitions shortfalls, Pentagon inspector confirms remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.