Pentagon admits Iran war caused ammunition shortages, cost US $33.4bn

The US Department of Defense's inspector general has acknowledged that the war on Iran, which began on 28 February, led to ammunition shortages and bottlenecks in supply chains, as President Donald Trump's administration works to replace weapons consumed during the war.

According to the report, published by US media on Monday, the Pentagon "is working to streamline procurement procedures and reduce production lead times, stockpile critical materials and components, as well as selected munitions, for rapid response to contingencies, to mitigate these constraints".

The report, which was commissioned by Congress, covers the period from the beginning of the war on 28 February until 30 June.

It is among the first publicly available reports by a government body to detail the cost, scope and scale of the conflict led by the US and Israel, and its impact on the US military, State Department and other agencies.

Among its findings, the report provides one of the first government confirmations that Iran targeted the US Navy's main logistical support centre in the region, in Bahrain, with drones and ballistic missiles.

The watchdog's report details damage to military equipment, aircraft and other assets during the first four months of the war, including the destruction of at least 30 large US drones. 

High cost of Iran war

The Pentagon report said the war with Iran cost around $33.4 billion, a figure that does not include the cost of repairing damaged facilities.

The total includes $22.3 billion in munitions costs, $3.7 billion in equipment losses and $7.4 billion in other expenses.

The report also said the war resulted in the relocation of more than 20,000 US military personnel and diplomats from their posts, after they were evacuated at the beginning of the conflict and during the days and weeks that followed.

US forces carried out as many as 5,000 flights from European bases in support of the war, according to the report, as Trump repeatedly expressed frustration over what he described as limited contributions by European allies.

The report also reviewed damage to US aircraft and other military equipment, as well as some US bases in the region.

According to the report, the US State Department suffered losses and damage worth more than $208 million in four countries—Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The figure included $184 million in damage to "diplomatic facilities" and a further $25 million resulting from delays to construction projects.

Last month, Trump said the US had huge quantities of ammunition, but added that the country always needed more ammunition supplies. He also said the US obtained ammunition supplies from around the world.

Earlier, Trump said on Truth Social that he was "very happy" with the work carried out by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, denying a Washington Post report that had pointed to the president's anger with Hegseth and his questioning of why he had been given false information about "severe ammunition shortages".

Trump said the reports were "fake news" spreading "totally false" and baseless rumours, and denied that the US was facing an ammunition shortage. He also threatened "leakers" with prison.

The Washington Post reported last month on a tense meeting between Trump and Hegseth centred on ammunition shortages in the US military, which the newspaper said had led Washington to suspend planned strikes against Iran.