The Scoop
Israel informed the US this week that it is running critically low on ballistic missile interceptors as the conflict with Iran rages on, US officials told Semafor.
Israel had reportedly entered the current war already low on interceptors that were fired during last summer’s conflict with Iran. Israel’s long-range defense system has strained under Iran’s attacks; CNN reported that Iran was adding cluster munitions to its missiles, which may exacerbate the depletion of the stock.
The US has been aware of Israel’s low capacity for months, one US official said: “It’s something we expected and anticipated.”
This official emphasized to Semafor that the US is not running similarly low on interceptors of its own. That comment comes amid broader concerns about interceptor depletion from a longer military engagement in Iran leaving the US in a poor position.
It’s also unclear whether the US might seek to sell or share any of its own interceptors with Israel, which would pose its own strain on domestic supplies. The US has included missile defense assets in past provisions of military aid to Israel.
“We have all that we need to protect our bases and our personnel in the region and our interests,” the US official said, adding that Israel is “coming up with solutions to address” their shortage.
Israel has other ways to defend against Iranian missiles during the war, including via fighter jets, but the interceptors are among the most effective defensive weapons against long-range fire. Its Iron Dome missile defense system is designed to repel more short-range fire.
President Donald Trump said earlier this month that the US has a “virtually unlimited” munitions stockpile, although analysts have long said US stockpiles are lower than the military would like.
Last June, the US fired over 150 THAAD interceptors during the 12-day war with Iran, the Center for Strategic and International Studies found — believed to be around a quarter of US inventory at the time. The US is also believed to have used around $2.4 billion worth of Patriot interceptors in the first five days of this war, according to some reports.
In January, the Pentagon made moves to begin substantially increasing its production of the THAAD missile defense system. The US official said that the administration has plenty of THAADs and fighter jets, as well as mid-level interceptors.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told Semafor in a statement that the department “has everything it needs to execute any mission at the time and place of” Trump’s choosing.
The White House and the Israel Defense Forces did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Semafor.
Know More
The State Department last week announced a sale of 12,000 “BLU-110A/B general purpose, 1,000-pound bomb bodies” to Israel. Congressional approval for the sale will not be required; the Trump administration bypassed it by citing the “emergency” that currently exists as the US and Israel fight Iran.
Trump has said that the war could end “soon” and has recently taken to describing it as a “short-term excursion.” But Trump, Israel, and Iran are also all signaling that they’re willing to fight for as long as it takes.
“It’ll be as long as it’s necessary,” Trump said on Friday evening when asked about how long the conflict may continue on. “They’ve been decimated. The country’s in bad shape. The whole thing is collapsing.”
The Iranian regime’s foreign policy adviser told CNN this week that the country sees no option for diplomacy right now and maintained that it is ready for a long fight. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on Friday that Iran’s “entire ballistic missile production capacity” has been “functionally defeated.”
Notable
- Iranian cluster bombs hit several sites in Israel on Friday, though no casualties have been reported, according to The Times of Israel.
- The Trump administration struck military targets on Kharg Island this week, though it left the key oil infrastructure that Iran relies on intact.
- Israel is planning to expand its ground invasion in Lebanon, according to Axios [end]
The original article
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