The US is facing a shortage of key missile stocks, including Tomahawk land-attack missiles and SM-3 interceptors, amid the ongoing US-Israeli offensive on Iran, CNN has reported.
Citing a senior US official, the report published on Monday said that Washington anticipates a “major uptick” in attacks within the next 24 hours, while missile and interceptor reserves are depleting.
The official claimed that the initial round of strikes has succeeded in weakening Iranian defences. The upcoming phase is expected to focus on targeting Iran’s missile production facilities, unmanned aerial vehicles and naval capabilities.
The Pentagon is also facing a shortage of Patriot missiles, as Ukrainian air defences have used a significant portion of the stockpile over the past four years of war with Russia.
Since Saturday, the US-Israeli joint assault has yielded significant claimed results, the US Central Command said, noting that all 11 Iranian vessels in the Gulf of Oman had been destroyed.
US President Donald Trump claimed that 49 Iranian leaders had been killed, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. US B-2 stealth bombers also struck Iran's hardened ballistic missile facilities overnight on Sunday.
Meanwhile, at least six US service members have been killed and 18 seriously wounded since the attacks began.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Gulf countries which are home to US military assets.
