US President Donald Trump has denied reports that the US is running out of ammunition and has vowed to impose long prison sentences on those suspected of leaking information, the BBC reports.
On the 6th of August, Trump wrote on social media that the US has huge stockpiles of ammunition, especially certain types of ammunition, and that large quantities of ammunition are also being produced.
Both Trump and the Pentagon have faced questions about the country’s military arsenal, given that strikes on Iran have continued for six months and a peace deal has yet to be reached.
Iran has responded to reports of a dwindling US arms stockpile by saying that its locally produced weapons allow it to respond to any threat. Iran’s defense minister wrote on the X that the decline in the enemy’s capabilities is becoming more noticeable every day, while the Iranian army and defense industry are able to provide for themselves. He added that those who are currently trying to buy security and military superiority with imported systems will soon realize that Iran’s domestic technology is superior to any other system in the region.
After the US used up a substantial stockpile of difficult-to-produce weapons to attack Iran,
the Trump administration must now try to convince Americans that the country’s missile stockpile has not run out.
CBS News, citing two anonymous sources, reported that the US used up a large part of its long-range missile stockpile in the war against Iran. Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported on the evening of the 5th of August that Trump had confronted US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in late July about the possible shortage of weapons.
Trump wrote on his social network Truth Social that the leakers of treasonous information will be sought, and they will face a long prison sentence. In a later post, the US president referred to the Washington Post and indicated that he believes that such false reports are treason. He added that he is very satisfied with Hegseth’s work.
Precise information about the US weapons stockpiles is classified information. Since taking office, Hegseth has strictly limited the information available to the media. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), using publicly available information, has estimated that the US has between 759 and 827 Patriot missiles left, which is about a third of the 2,330 missiles that were available before the Iran war. It is also estimated that the US has currently deployed about 60% of its thermal defense missiles (THAAD). Demand for US weapons remains high in other conflict zones as well.
The long lead times for financing, ordering, manufacturing and delivering many of the latest weapons make it difficult to quickly replenish ammunition stocks, yet the US administration continues to insist that stocks are sufficient. Trump told the Wall Street Journal in July that the US has far more ammunition than anyone else in the world, and far more than it needs.
Read also: Trump: Iran will be hit very hard if it does not open the Strait of Hormuz
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