Pentagon report reveals Iran war depleted US ammunition stockpile

A new Pentagon report has shown that the US is running low on its ammunition stockpile due to its ongoing war with Iran.

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The Department of Defence Inspector General report was submitted to the US Congress on Monday, according to the Washington Post.

It accounts for the losses Washington has incurred since the first strike in February. It is one of the first public accounts from any government agency detailing the cost, scope, and scale of the war on the military, the State Department, and other agencies.

Contrary to President Donald Trump’s claim that the US has unlimited weapons and was producing even more exquisite ones, the report stated that Washington was running short.

According to the report, the US has suffered significant losses to its munition stockpile, particularly missiles and air-defence interceptors, since the war with Iran began on February 28.

The cost of the war with Iran was estimated to be around $33.4 billion. This does not include the cost of repairing damaged facilities.

Around $22.3 billion was also spent on munitions, according to the report. The report also cited $3.7 billion in equipment losses and $7.4 billion in other expenses.

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The report also confirmed that hundreds of buildings and structures used by the US were damaged or destroyed by Iranian attacks, according to Al Jazeera.

Iran also targeted Washington’s Navy’s main logistics hub in the region, in Bahrain, with drones and ballistic missiles.

The US also lost dozens of aircraft, according to the report. It reported the destruction of four F-15E jet fighters, an F-35A Joint Strike Fighter, and an A-10 Warthog, which was also destroyed.

The report stated that twelve KC-135 refuelers and nine other aircraft were also destroyed. More than 30 MQ-9 drones had also been destroyed as of June.

According to the report, the State Department sustained more than $208 million in damage in four countries — Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. That includes $184 million in damages to “diplomatic facilities” and $25 million more due to delays in construction projects.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the first American casualties were recorded in March after three US fighter jets crashed in Kuwait. Three American soldiers died in the crash, with four others seriously injured. Hours later, another US soldier was killed by Iranian missiles.

READ ALSO: US bombs Iran’s Larak Island

However, the Pentagon report put the death toll at 18. It said at least 11 personnel were “killed in action”, while seven died in “non-hostile events” during the war.

However, the report did not provide any information on the strike which killed over 165 elementary school girls in Tehran.

This paper reported the US strike at an elementary school in Minab, the Hormozgan province of Southern Iran in February. Five pupils were initially reported dead, before the toll began to rise steadily as emergency workers cleared the wreckage and identified more victims.

This paper also reported that the toll first rose to 95, and then to 118 before rising to over 160 in days.

In March, the Pentagon announced that it had launched a formal investigation into the attack. Then, in June, NBC reported that some senior US military officials said the investigation was in its final stages and that the Pentagon was preparing to share it with lawmakers.