AP: U.S. missile stockpile situation is critical

ParsToday – A Western media outlet has reported that due to the war against Iran, the status of U.S. missile stockpiles—particularly Patriot missiles—has reached a critical level.

According to ParsToday, citing Mehr News Agency, a U.S. defense official in Europe and a NATO official told the Associated Press that the U.S. military is facing a shortage "beyond the critical level" of advanced interceptor missiles in Europe, largely caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's war with Iran.

The U.S. defense official stated that the most concerning shortage involves Patriot interceptor missiles—missiles capable of shooting down high-speed Russian ballistic missiles. The NATO official also confirmed the low stockpiles of Patriot missiles among U.S. and NATO forces in Europe.

The U.S. defense official added that in the event of a Russian ballistic missile attack on a military installation or power plant, NATO could find itself in a situation similar to Ukraine's and suffer a major blow.

According to the U.S. official, the U.S. military in Europe "definitely" does not have enough Patriot missiles on hand to stop any potential sustained ballistic missile attack, and has only "very limited capability" to defend against a single ballistic missile attack or a stray Russian missile that has deviated from its course.