According to CCTV News, a U.S. government watchdog agency released its first report that day on the impact of the U.S.-Iran war, acknowledging shortages in the U.S. military's advanced weapons stockpiles and publicly disclosing damage to U.S. military aircraft, military bases, and diplomatic facilities in the Middle East.
The report by the U.S. Department of Defense Inspector General said the war has caused "strategic stockpile shortages" and exposed bottlenecks in the defense industrial capacity for ammunition replenishment. Experts had previously estimated that it could take the U.S. military about three years to restore its stockpiles of advanced missiles and air-defense interceptors to pre-war levels.
It is understood that Iranian attacks damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and other facilities at U.S. military bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan, while dozens of U.S. military aircraft and drones were also damaged or destroyed. U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth previously said that, as of the end of July, the war had cost about US$37.5 billion.
According to earlier reports, U.S. ammunition stockpiles have repeatedly been reported to have been heavily depleted in the Iran war and to be in a state of severe shortage. The White House and the Pentagon have repeatedly denied this. However, information disclosed by the media shows that U.S. military personnel have already warned the government.
As early as late July, when U.S. President Trump decided to suspend large-scale strikes on Iran, U.S. media disclosed that the core reason was a shortage of ammunition.
On Sep. 3, Trump took to social media to complain that the press was not accurately portraying the state of U.S. weapons and ammunition stockpiles. Using harsh language, he described media outlets that he claimed refused to report faithfully on U.S. military operations against Iran as treacherous, and asserted that the United States has an almost limitless supply of mid- and high-end munitions. According to him, that stockpile is far larger than what could ever be needed for the Iran operation or for any other highly unlikely conflict. He further said that munitions production is being expanded on a scale never seen before.
Related News:
Trump tightens H-1B rules again: Laid-off workers to lose legal status immediately
Trump says to consider requests to release more 9/11 files after visiting Ireland
Comment