Hegseth disputes reports of depleted US missile interceptor stocks

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday pushed back against reports that the war with Iran has sharply reduced U.S. inventories of missile interceptors.

Responding to a screenshot of a CNN news banner on X, Hegseth dismissed the reporting as “NOT TRUE” and added: “Shame on you.”

CNN reported that the United States has used nearly 80% of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile stockpile and about half of its Patriot interceptors since the war began, citing sources familiar with a recent inventory assessment.

Senior U.S. military leaders have warned that the Pentagon’s munitions stockpile is becoming “dangerously low,” according to CNN.

The report echoed concerns raised last week by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a bipartisan think tank in Washington, which concluded that U.S. missile stockpiles have been significantly depleted.

CSIS analysts estimated that the U.S. has between 759 and 827 Patriot interceptors left, roughly a third of its prewar inventory. The U.S. also has an estimated 234 to 278 THAAD interceptors remaining, down from 452 before the war, according to the July 27 report.

American and partner forces have relied heavily on the Patriot and THAAD systems to defend troops and bases against Iranian ballistic missile attacks across the Middle East.

The ground-based systems have reportedly intercepted the vast majority of Iranian projectiles, but CSIS experts have warned that it could take two to three years or longer to restore prewar levels.

In an interview last week with PBS, Jerry McGinn, a former senior official in the Defense Department’s Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy, said the Patriot and other munitions were not “designed to be built like Ford trucks” and are essentially handmade.

From contract award to delivery, it can take 24 months to create a Patriot missile, he said.

Despite the diminished stockpile, CSIS analysts said the U.S. has enough missile interceptors on hand “for any plausible scenario in the war against Iran,” with the risk coming from any potential future wars, particularly with China.

On Monday, the Defense Department announced agreements with Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin aimed at tripling and quadrupling the production of Patriot and THAAD missiles, respectively.

In the meantime, another ceasefire with Iran could be on the horizon, with reports Wednesday that the U.S., Iran and Oman are closing in on an interim agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported, citing two regional sources and a U.S. official.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a deal could be imminent, a claim he has repeated throughout the five-month war.

“It could happen. Tomorrow or the next day,” he said while speaking with reporters traveling with him in California. “A lot of progress has been made.”’

The deal being considered would establish a 60-day temporary arrangement between Oman and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, and no tolls would be charged, among other conditions, Axios reported.

On Saturday, Trump said he had canceled plans for military strikes against Iran in expectation of reaching a deal to reopen the strait and in response to requests from Iran and other countries in the region.

“Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL,” he said on his Truth Social platform.

The war began with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28 and has since killed 18 U.S. service members and wounded more than 650 others.