US military confirms Iran war has led to munitions shortfall

The US Department of Defence has confirmed a shortfall in ammunition due to its war with Iran. According to the Pentagon's inspector general, the war, referred to as Operation Epic Fury, has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply.

The inspector general's report, covering the period from February 28 to June 30, estimated the cost of the war at $33.4 billion. This includes $22.3 billion spent on expended munitions and $3.7 billion in equipment losses based on replacement cost. The report also noted that Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed "hundreds of buildings and structures" at US military bases across the Gulf.

The Pentagon is working to address the munitions shortfall by streamlining procurement processes and production lead times, and stockpiling critical materials, components, and selected munitions. This comes after US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth repeatedly denied media reports of depleted arms stockpiles, according to Middle East Eye.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, Punch, Al-Monitor, Middle East Eye, Hindustan Times - World News — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.