Washington: About 80 percent of the interceptors (missiles) used in America’s most important missile defense system ‘THAAD’ have been depleted.
The American broadcaster CNN has reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter, that since the start of the war against Iran, the US military has used up about 80 percent of its THAAD missile stockpile, while the stockpile of ‘Patriot’ interceptors has also been depleted by about half compared to the number before the war.
According to CNN, dwindling ammunition stocks and concerns about possible Iranian retaliation against American allies in the Middle East prompted President Donald Trump to cancel plans for large-scale attacks on Iranian facilities.
Earlier, the British news agency had claimed, citing sources, that the US had apparently used up all its highly accurate missiles in the war against Iran.
On the other hand, Pentagon and White House officials have categorically rejected these concerns about the reduction in ammunition and weapons stocks.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, speaking to CNN, said that the US military is the most powerful military in the world and has everything it needs to act at the time and place chosen by the president.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly added that the US military has more than enough ammunition and other reserves to meet all of President Trump’s strategic goals and beyond.
