Pentagon Warns Of Low Missile Stock If Iran War Rages For 10 More Days: Report

As the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran continues to rage on for the fourth day today, leaks from the Pentagon have suggested that if the US continues to strike the Islamic Republic for 10 more days, the stocks of critical missiles could run low.

On Friday afternoon, US President Donald Trump told reporters that he was not happy with the way nuclear talks with Iran had been going. Three hours later, he gave the order to launch the operation that would take out many of the country's top leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a number of top military chiefs.

Iran in retaliation targeted US bases in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq with missiles and drones.

A plume of smoke acends after a military strike on the capital Tehran on March 2, 2026
Photo Credit: AFP

According to a report by Al Jazeera, Trump has been informed by the Pentagon that an extended conflict could include several risks such as facing high costs for replenishing munition stocks.

However, on Tuesday, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that the stocks could help the US fight wars "forever".

"The United States Munitions Stockpiles have, at the medium and upper medium grade, never been higher or better - As was stated to me today, we have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons. Wars can be fought 'forever,' and very successfully, using just these supplies," he wrote.

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Although Trump said on Monday that the strike on Iran was planned to be continued for "four to five weeks", he said it could go on for far longer than that.

Which Weapons Could Run Low?

Analysts told Al Jazeera that a few weapons in the US stockpile may run very low by that time, especially interceptor missiles.

On February 23, The Wall Street Journal reported that Pentagon officials and General Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, had warned Trump about the risks of an extended conflict against Iran.

Caine had also highlighted to the Republican leader that a lack of critical munitions could hamper efforts to control a retaliation by the Iranians. 

A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched from a THAAD battery located on Wake Island, during Flight Test Operational (FTO)-02 Event 2a, conducted November 1, 2015.
Photo Credit: AFP

The report reveals that America's weapons and ammunition reserves, including vital stocks for missile defence systems, are now critically depleted after military aid to allies such as Israel and Ukraine.

In last year's war with Iran, the US had used 25 per cent of its THAAD interceptors, using 150 of them to intercept Iranian missiles. US media also reported that US ran out of ship-borne interceptors during last year's war.

The Al Jazeera report warns that the US risks exhausting its supplies of advanced precision munitions and key interceptors, including the THAAD system.

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Among the most affected are Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) - GPS-guided kits that convert ordinary unguided bombs into highly accurate "smart" weapons.

Experts point out that these sophisticated missile shields were built mainly to counter short, intense strikes from major powers like Russia, China or North Korea and not the kind of sustained, low-cost rocket barrages now being faced.

On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that Iran's production capacity far outpaces what the United States and its partners can manufacture in defensive interceptors.

"They are producing, by some estimates, over 100 of these missiles a month. Compare that to the six or seven interceptors that can be built a month," Rubio said. Compounding the problem, inventories of the ship-launched Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), an advanced anti-ballistic missile interceptor, are already running low because of sluggish manufacturing rates, repeated operations against Yemen's Houthi militants and previous confrontations with Iran.

The first 24 hours of the strikes on Iran alone have seen the US spend $779 million, or nearly Rs 6,900 crore, according to reports.

Cost Of The Iran War

Data from the Center for New American Security states carrier strike groups (like the USS Gerald R Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier) cost around $6.5 million, or Rs 58 crore, a day to operate.

In the lead-up to the strikes, which led to the elimination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other key figures, the United States deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups, including the Gerald R Ford, in the Middle East.

Taken together, the estimated cost of the pre-strike military build-up - including repositioning aircraft, deploying naval vessels and mobilising regional assets - would be in the vicinity of $630 million (Rs 5,556 crore).

In this aerial handout picture released by the Iranian Press Center, mourners dig graves during the funeral for children killed in a reported strike on a primary school in Iran's Hormozgan province in Minab on March 3, 2026.
Photo Credit: AFP

If the war drags on, like Trump has indicated it will, the US will end up spending a staggering $210 billion (Rs 18.87 lakh crore), according to Kent Smetters, director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model and one of the nation's foremost fiscal analysts.

Since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, the US has provided $21.7 billion in military aid to Israel. It also supported operations carried out by the country in Yemen, Iran and the wider Middle East, spending between $9.65 billion and $12.07 billion on this. Add the two figures, cited in Brown University's 2025 Costs of War report, and you arrive at between $31.35 billion (Rs 2.82 lakh crore) and $33.77 billion (Rs 3.04 lakh crore).