U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly put a large-scale attack on Iran on hold after receiving a briefing from aides that U.S. forces lack air-defense missiles in the Middle East.
According to sources cited by the New York Times (NYT) on the 25th, Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), said in a closed-door meeting with Trump and aides the previous day that while resuming a large-scale combat operation against Iran was possible, it would deplete the interceptors available to U.S. forces to a dangerous level.
Just days earlier, speculation had grown within the U.S. government that Trump would approve the first phase of a multi-step bombing campaign against Iran. The Ministry of National Defense also sent more military asset, including aerial refueling aircraft capable of supporting a full-scale airstrike on Iran, to the Middle East.
In fact, in an interview with the U.S. online outlet Axios on the 23rd, Trump said, "We are considering a large-scale attack, an attack bigger than ever before," adding, "We have everything ready."
However, as top commanders assessed that ammunition stocks to defend U.S. troops stationed in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were dwindling, Trump appeared to put the bombing plan against Iran on hold that day, the NYT said.
U.S. bases in those countries have come under heavy Iranian attack over the past two weeks. A large-scale U.S. strike would invite a strong Iranian retaliation and strain U.S. air defenses.
In April, the NYT reported that after the outbreak of the Iran war, the United States had expended more than 1,200 Patriot missiles and other munitions, leaving stocks worryingly low. A single Patriot missile costs more than $4 million (about 5.9 billion won).
This week, the weapons stock situation appears to have worsened. Few in Trump's circle believed that an escalation plan against Iran was wise, the sources said.
With the U.S. halting airstrikes on Iran on the 24th after 13 straight days, the two sides' armed confrontation has entered a lull for the first time in two weeks.
However, as clashes intensify between Saudi Arabia, a pro-U.S. oil producer, and the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen, military tensions in the Middle East remain.