Trump clashes with Pentagon chief over US missile shortages
Pete Hegseth (photo: Getty Images)
United States President Donald Trump reportedly became frustrated and demanded an explanation from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over why he may have been misled about a severe ammunition shortage during the conflict with Iran, The Washington Post reported.
According to the sources, the meeting took place on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday. During the meeting, Trump confronted the Pentagon chief because the ammunition shortage threatens to limit the United States' military capabilities against Iran.
Hegseth, in turn, defended himself and blamed his deputy, Stephen Feinberg, for the shortage and for failing to fully inform Trump about the issue.
According to multiple officials, the exchange underscored Trump's growing frustration with his defense secretary, who had been one of the strongest advocates of military action against Iran. It was Hegseth who had convinced the president that it would be a quick and relatively easy victory.
Also in July, during Senate hearings, Hegseth declined to discuss his advice to Trump and repeatedly blamed any shortages on the Biden administration's handling of the military rather than on operations carried out under Trump.
According to one source, the shortage of long-range precision-guided missiles and surface-to-air interceptor missiles is one of the reasons Trump has declined in recent days to authorize additional large-scale strikes against Iran.
In addition, the shortage of defensive munitions has affected not only the Middle East but also Ukraine's supply of air defense systems, leaving the country more vulnerable to Russian attacks.
"The lack of interceptor missiles is also altering how the US decides whether to employ munitions against an incoming threat," a United States official told The Washington Post.
The newspaper added that although the United States has announced new production agreements for some of its most important munitions, such as Patriot surface-to-air missiles, manufacturing these munitions can take up to two years. As a result, no improvement in the shortage is expected in the near future.
Missile shortages in the United States
A day earlier, CNN reported that because of the war with Iran, the United States military had used nearly 80% of its THAAD air defense missiles compared with pre-war levels, as well as about half of its Patriot interceptor missiles.
In addition, Reuters reported that the United States military used nearly all of its long-range precision-guided surface-to-air missiles during the war with Iran. Specifically, this includes shortages of ATACMS, PrSM, and Tomahawk missiles.
