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Trump vows to find ‘leakers’ after reports of depleted Iran war munitions - Al Jazeera
WorldBy Joseph Stepansky8/6/20261 min read
US President defends Pentagon chief Hegseth following report of confrontation over dwindling weapons supply.
✨ Key Highlights
- US President Donald Trump pledged to track down "leakers" behind news reports revealing a serious depletion of American munitions stockpiles during the US-Israeli war on Iran, threatening to seek long-term prison sentences.
- Reuters and CBS News reported the military had exhausted nearly all its offensive Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMSs) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSMs), which experts warned could force reliance on riskier close-range and aerial attacks in any renewed escalation.
- A CNN report indicating low levels of Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors heightened concern, with analysts noting no viable short-term alternative exists and that rebuilding pre-war stockpiles could take years.
- Writing on Truth Social, Trump denied any strategic disadvantage after five months of war, insisting the US has "massive amounts" of munitions and that defence contractors are building the largest number of plants and factories in the country's history.
- Trump also defended Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, saying he was "extremely happy" with his leadership, following a Washington Post report that the president had confronted Hegseth at a Camp David cabinet meeting over allegedly misleading him about munitions shortages.
- The Washington Post reported that Hegseth, a longtime advocate of a militaristic approach to Iran, blamed Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg for the shortages and for failing to keep Trump informed, amid the ongoing war that began on February 28.
United States President Donald Trump has vowed to hunt down leakers after several news reports detailing a dangerous depletion of munitions stockpiles amid the US-Israeli war on Iran.
While several