Iran war depletes US military stockpiles, limiting global deterrence: report

US officials say inventories of interceptors in Europe 'beyond critical’ levels; Pentagon denies scarcity

The extensive use of advanced weaponry in the war against Iran has severely depleted US military stockpiles, limiting Washington’s ability to deter threats from China and Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Military planners expressed concern that the resource drain has forced the US European Command, the division responsible for American military operations across the continent, to adjust its operational plans.

US officials assessed that Washington could not fully execute contingency plans to defend Taiwan, the self-governing island over which China claims sovereignty, if a military operation occurs in the short term.

Read: US has fired over 850 Tomahawk missiles at Iran, raising stockpile concerns

Moving air defence units to the Middle East from Japan, South Korea and Germany has created “soft spots” in the American global military posture that could take years to refill, according to officials.

Inventories in Europe of PAC-3 Patriot interceptors and ATACMS surface-to-surface missiles are considered at “beyond critical” levels, some officials claimed. Additionally, THAAD anti-missile interceptors and counter-drone systems have been redirected to the Middle East, further diminishing continental supplies. The moves have sharply restricted the ability of Western nations to send interceptors to Ukraine as Russian missile attacks continue.

The White House and the Pentagon have officially denied any munition scarcity. The Trump administration said the US military maintains enough resources to serve all of US President Donald Trump’s goals.

UN maritime agency says 400 ships stranded in Gulf amid ongoing Mideast war

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said Friday that 400 vessels and 6,000 seafarers are stranded in the Gulf six months after the war in the Middle East began.

“While some ships and their crews have been able to leave the Gulf, up to 400 ships carrying around 6,000 seafarers have been unable to depart safely since the conflict began,” Arsenio Dominguez, the head of the IMO, said. He described the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which one-fifth of global oil trade passes, as “unresolved.”

The UN agency has verified at least 70 attacks on international shipping since the war started on February 28, resulting in the deaths of 19 seafarers.

Read more: Pakistan working to bring US-Iran back to Islamabad MoU: FO

Dominguez emphasised that the disruption of vital supply chains for fuel and fertiliser has “grave” consequences for communities and economies worldwide. He noted that the situation is particularly distressing for the thousands of “innocent” workers living under conditions of “heightened risk and uncertainty.”

Dominguez encouraged a “renewed political will” from member states and the shipping industry to restore freedom of navigation through the waterway.

The US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in June and launched negotiations toward a final agreement. Talks later stalled, however, over disagreements about security guarantees and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.