U.S. Media: U.S. Assistance to Israel in Defense Exceeds the Number of Missiles Used by the Israeli Military

On May 21, Xinhua News Agency reported from Washington that a assessment report provided to the Washington Post by the U.S. Department of Defense shows that in military operations against Iran, the amount of advanced munitions consumed by the U.S. military to assist Israel in defending against Iranian missile attacks far exceeds that of the Israeli military, and the stockpile of advanced interceptors in the U.S. military has significantly decreased.

Several anonymous U.S. officials revealed to the newspaper that during the U.S. military operation codenamed "Epic Fury," the U.S. launched over 200 "THAAD" interceptor missiles to protect Israel, accounting for about half of the total stockpile of the U.S. Department of Defense, and also launched more than 100 "Standard-3" and "Standard-6" interceptors from warships deployed in the Mediterranean. In contrast, Israel launched fewer than 100 "Arrow" interceptors and about 90 "David's Sling" interceptors.

Kelly Grieco, a senior researcher at the Stimson Center, said, "The U.S. has taken on most of the missile defense tasks, while Israel has preserved its own munitions stockpile. Even if the operational logic is reasonable, the U.S. is left with only about 200 'THAAD' interceptor missiles."

One U.S. official believes that if the U.S. and Israel resume military operations against Iran in the coming days, the U.S. may consume more interceptors, as the Israeli military has recently decided to shut down some of its missile defense systems for maintenance.

The report states that the challenges of the conflict with Iran have proven to exceed the expectations of U.S. and Israeli leaders, with "tensions between the two allies gradually escalating." Officials from the U.S. and Middle Eastern countries confirmed to the newspaper that U.S. President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had a "tense" phone conversation on the direction of upcoming actions on the 19th. Israel has repeatedly pressured for a resumption of hostilities, angering some U.S. officials, especially considering that restarting the war would put pressure on U.S. munitions supplies. One U.S. official bluntly stated, "Israel cannot win the war on its own, but in reality, no one knows this because the outside world has no way of knowing the inside story."

Justin Logan, director of defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute, said that the current situation clearly contradicts Trump's "America First" slogan. "After Trump took office again, Israel's position was very straightforward: its own interests come first, and its resources are reserved for its own use." Logan noted that last year, the U.S. Department of Defense disclosed that the U.S. military's "Patriot" missile stockpile could only meet a quarter of the quantity required for the current U.S. defense plan, questioning why this information did not raise alarms for the Trump administration, which is "puzzling."