Israel running out of interceptors, at risk from Iranian missiles

However, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has dismissed reports that the interceptor stockpile has “decreased to dangerous levels.” Saar, who visited a site in northern Israel hit by Iranian missile strikes, said the answer was “no.”

Several media reports have said that Iran has added “cluster warheads” to some of its missiles, making it more difficult to intercept them. At the same time, Israel’s interceptor stockpile is rapidly depleting.

Washington has been mulling over the potential problem for months. “This is what was supposed to happen and we knew it beforehand,” a US official told Semaphore.

However, the official insisted that the US had no such shortage and that it had sufficient interceptors on hand. The comments come amid growing concerns that missile defense equipment could quickly run out in a protracted war with Iran.

It is unclear whether Washington will provide additional interceptors to Israel. Previous US military aid packages have included air defense systems, but any new equipment could put pressure on US stockpiles.

“We have everything we need to protect our bases, personnel and interests in this (Middle East) region,” the US official said. He added that Israel was finding its own solutions to deal with the crisis.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump recently claimed that the US has a “virtually unlimited” stockpile of weapons. However, his claim could not be independently verified.

According to the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, the US launched more than 150 ‘THAAD’ air defense interceptors during the 12-day conflict with Iran last June. This was about a quarter of the US stockpile at the time. In addition, Washington is reported to have spent about $2.4 billion worth of ‘Patriot’ interceptors in the early days of the current war.

The US and Israeli attacks on Iran entered their third week on Sunday. In response to the attacks, Iran has been firing missiles and drones at various US military positions in Israel and the Middle East. In an attempt to stop these missiles and drones, Israel’s stockpile of interceptor missiles has fallen to a dangerous level. A media outlet in the country has reported this, citing US officials. However, Israel has denied this.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had launched drones and missiles targeting Israeli and US positions for the 54th time in the ongoing war as of Sunday. The number of missile strikes on Israel has also increased in recent days.

Israel's defenses were already somewhat weakened by the large number of interceptors used during last year's war with Iran. Iran's repeated missile launches in the current conflict have further strained Israel's long-range air defenses.

However, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has dismissed reports that the interceptor stockpile has "dangerously dwindled." Saar told reporters during a visit to a site in northern Israel hit by Iranian missile strikes that the answer was "no."

Several media reports have said that Iran has added "cluster warheads" to some of its missiles, making it more difficult to intercept them. At the same time, Israel's interceptor stockpile is rapidly depleting.

Washington has been mulling over the potential problem for months. “This was supposed to happen and we knew it in advance,” a US official told Semaphore.

However, the official insisted that the US had no such crisis and had sufficient interceptors on hand. The comments came amid growing concerns that missile defence equipment could quickly run out in a protracted war with Iran.

It is unclear whether Washington will provide additional interceptors to Israel. Previous US military aid packages have included air defence systems. However, any new equipment deliveries could put pressure on US stockpiles.

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