An American news website, citing two U.S. officials, has reported that the pressures stemming from the war with Iran have severely exhausted the U.S. military, with one of the officials warning that these pressures could eventually undermine the military’s ability to continue fighting effectively.
The American website The Intercept, citing two U.S. officials, reported that the pressures resulting from the war with Iran have severely strained the U.S. military. One of the officials warned that these pressures could ultimately deprive the U.S. military of its ability to continue the war effectively.
The report portrays the U.S. military as facing several crises simultaneously during the months of war with Iran. Continuous Iranian attacks on U.S. bases and warships, declining stocks of air-defense missiles, rising casualties, equipment fatigue, prolonged troop deployments, logistical problems, and declining troop morale have all placed mounting pressure on the U.S. military.
Two U.S. officials familiar with military operations in the Middle East told The Intercept that these pressures could ultimately impair the U.S. military’s ability to continue the war effectively. One described the current situation as “ultimately unsustainable” and said the White House’s assumption that Iran would be worn down before the U.S. Navy has so far failed to materialize.
Iran Has Put U.S. Air Defenses Under Pressure
According to The Intercept, Iran’s ability to simultaneously employ attack drones and advanced ballistic missiles to penetrate U.S. defenses has placed the American military in a vulnerable position.
One U.S. official said the Trump administration had failed to properly assess Iran’s military capabilities, while a second official spoke of a “complete lack of planning” for the war.
This comes as official Pentagon figures indicate that, since July 7 alone, Iranian attacks have resulted in hundreds of casualties among U.S. forces.
U.S. Bases Come Under Fire One After Another
One of Iran’s first major strikes at the beginning of the war was a missile-and-drone attack on February 28 against U.S. Navy facilities in Manama, Bahrain—a facility described as the most important U.S. logistics hub in the region.
According to the report, the Pentagon had claimed for months that the attack had not had a significant impact on U.S. operations. However, Hung Kao, acting U.S. Secretary of the Navy, acknowledged last week: “They completely disrupted Bahrain.”
More than six months after the attack, the U.S. Navy support facility in Bahrain remains in disarray. Admiral Daryl Caudle, Chief of Naval Operations, has also said: “We’re not going back there anytime soon.”
An estimate by The Wall Street Journal indicates that rebuilding the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, barracks, and communications towers at the facility could cost more than $400 million—a figure that, according to one U.S. official, may still be lower than the actual cost.
But Bahrain is not the only example. The U.S. Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar was also heavily damaged and knocked out of operation by Iranian missile attacks early in the war. Both facilities were subsequently targeted again.
According to The Intercept, Iran also targeted Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. A U.S. official said that several American military aircraft were damaged in the attack. U.S. forces fired a significant number of Patriot interceptor missiles to counter the attack.
The report also says that Tower 22, located on the Jordan-Syria border, came under attack. Satellite imagery and videos released publicly indicate extensive damage to the facility.
U.S. Fleet Under Pressure
The American website also referred to reports by Iranian officials, writing that, according to Iranian statements, the Islamic Republic has targeted Prince Hassan Air Base and King Faisal Air Base in Jordan, as well as several U.S. bases in Kuwait, including Al-Adairi, Ahmed Al Jaber, Camp Doha, Ali Al Salem, and Camp Arifjan.
According to The Intercept, as ground bases have sustained damage, pressure on the U.S. naval fleet has also increased.
With the U.S. Fifth Fleet’s home base in Bahrain out of operation and other ports in the region within range of Iranian missiles and drones, the U.S. Navy has faced difficulties supporting more than 24 warships in the region. The fleet includes two aircraft carrier strike groups, destroyers and missile cruisers, attack submarines, and support vessels.
Aircraft Carriers Are Also Being Worn Down
The Intercept went on to examine the condition of U.S. aircraft carriers. The United States has only 11 carrier strike groups, and four of them have so far been deployed to the Middle East during the war.
Some other U.S. aircraft carriers are undergoing major overhauls and will not be ready for redeployment for years.
The USS Gerald R. Ford has completed a record-breaking 11-month deployment, a mission that, in addition to the war with Iran, also included U.S. operations in Venezuela.
Claims of Iran’s “Destruction” Do Not Match Reality on the Ground
The Intercept then addressed claims by Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth regarding the destruction of Iran’s military capabilities. Despite these claims, the report says, Iran has attacked more than 15 U.S. bases across the Middle East.
One of the clearest signs of the pressure on the U.S. military is the sharp depletion of its interceptor missile stocks.
According to one analysis, the United States and its allies expended more than 11,000 munitions during the first 16 days of the war alone. In addition, approximately 65 percent of Patriot interceptor missiles were used between February and July, with their stockpile falling from 2,330 missiles before the war to fewer than 830.
THAAD missile stocks have also fallen from more than 450 interceptors to fewer than 270.
The Intercept writes that the depletion of these stocks has reached a point where U.S. forces are no longer capable of intercepting all Iranian missiles and drones launched toward American targets and those of Washington’s allies.
Nevertheless, Trump claimed on Monday that the United States is producing more “extraordinary and superior weapons” than at any other time in its history.
A report by the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of War, however, presents a different picture, stating that the war with Iran has resulted in a “strategic shortfall in weapons inventories” and exposed “bottlenecks in industrial capacity to replenish munitions.”
