The Trump administration is using up its stockpiles of missiles and other munitions during its war in Iran at a completely unsustainable rate, according to a report.
Sources told the Financial Times the U.S. has already burned through “years” worth of missiles since the Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28, raising concerns about the spiraling cost of the war and whether the U.S. military will be able to replenish its arsenal.
This includes a “massive expenditure of Tomahawks,” a U.S. missile believed to have been used in an airstrike that hit the Shajareye Tayabeh girls’ school in Minab, Hormozgan Province, which reportedly killed at least 175 people, many of them children.
“The navy will be feeling this expenditure for several years,” one person familiar with the U.S. military’s use of munitions told the Financial Times.
The Pentagon has already informed Congress in secret briefings that the first week of the war in Iran may have cost more than $11 billion. The conflict has also caused a worldwide oil crisis, with prices rising above $100 a barrel for the first time in four years.
With Trump giving increasingly unreliable statements about when the Middle East conflict might end, the Pentagon is reportedly gearing up to ask Congress to approve an additional $50 billion to help fund the war effort.
This is despite Trump making the dubious claim on Truth Social earlier this month that the U.S. has a “virtually unlimited supply” of certain munitions.
Trump has also downplayed concerns that millions of Americans will be affected by soaring oil prices because of the war, claiming the hardships are a “small price to pay.”
“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace,” Trump wrote in a March 8 Truth Social post. “ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!”
The White House has also shrugged off concerns about the U.S. running low on stockpiles, but appeared to confirm NBC News’ reporting earlier this month that the administration is demanding defense companies quickly produce more weaponry.
“The U.S, military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and weapons stockpiles to achieve the goals of Operation Epic Fury laid out by President Trump—and beyond,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
“Nevertheless, President Trump has always been intensely focused on strengthen our Armed Forces and he will continue to call on defense contractors to more speedily build American-made weapons, which are the best in the world.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Pentagon for comment.
