US allies in Europe and Asia, worried that they will no longer receive their purchased American weapons, because of the war in Iran. Behind the scenes details
European and Asian countries allied with the United States are worried that the Pentagon is using up so much ammunition in the Middle East war that it will not have enough to send them the weapons they have ordered, Politico wrote.
The Trump administration has put great political pressure on allies to increase their defense budgets and buy American weaponry, from air defense interceptors to guided bombs, but is now using up those munitions in its own war in the Middle East, where it has launched an offensive alongside Israel against Iran.
U.S. allies are watching with disbelief as the Pentagon redirects shipments of weapons for the Iran war, worried that the weapons Washington ordered will never reach them, according to Politico.
“It should be no secret that the munitions that have been and will be used are the ones that everyone needs to purchase in large quantities,” said a northern European official.
Eastern European official: “It's very frustrating”
Trump insisted the US has “a virtually unlimited supply,” but the remarks did little to assuage allies' fears.
“It's very frustrating, the words don't live up to the facts,” said an Eastern European official, also on condition of anonymity. “It's pretty clear to everyone that the US will put its own priorities, those of Taiwan, Israel and the hemisphere ahead of Europe,” he added.
Allies in the Pacific, where China has built the largest navy on the planet and now has missiles with which it can attack US troops in Guam, are concerned that the Pentagon will run out of ammunition in Iran and will not have enough to deter a possible war in Asia.
“The longer the conflict, the longer it lasts, the more urgent the supply of ammunition, and it is inevitable that the US will mobilize its external assets to support the operation,” explained an Asian diplomat in Washington, who warned that this “level of readiness” in the region.
The “enormous amount” of ammunition is also causing concern in the US
Fears of possible stockpiles also exist in the US, where some Pentagon officials have issued warnings about the state of the military's ammunition stocks, a US congressional aide and two other people familiar with the situation said.
This week, Pentagon officials warned Congress that the US military was consuming “an enormous amount” of munitions in the conflict, two of the people familiar with the conversations said.
The congressional adviser briefed on the Pentagon said the US uses precision missiles and advanced interceptors in “frighteningly high” numbers. These include Tomahawk missiles, Patriot PAC-3 and ship-launched air defense systems.
