WASHINGTON — The Defense Department’s inspector general released its first report on the war with Iran on Monday, saying the conflict has resulted in a shortfall of U.S. munitions and “bottlenecks” in supply chains as the Trump administration works to replenish weaponry.
“To mitigate these constraints,” the report said, the Pentagon is “working to streamline procurement processes and production lead times, and to stockpile critical materials, components, and selected munitions to respond rapidly to a contingency.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has denied reports that the U.S. is running low on munitions.
President Donald Trump said Monday on Truth Social that the U.S. is “producing more Exquisite and Elite Weapons than at any time in our History. They are being delivered on a daily basis to our Forces in the Middle East and beyond.”
Two weeks ago, Trump posted that the U.S. had “virtually unlimited” amounts of ammunition and lashed out at reports of munitions shortfalls.
The congressionally mandated report covers from the start of the war on Feb. 28 through June 30. It is one of the first public accountings from any government agency detailing the cost, scope and scale of the U.S.- and Israel-led conflict to the U.S. military, the State Department and other agencies. It follows reports of low morale among U.S. troops deployed to the Middle East, a depleting stockpile of key munitions and extensive damage to American military and intelligence assets in the region.
Among the findings, the report provides one of the first government confirmations that Iran targeted the U.S. Navy’s main logistics hub in the region, in Bahrain, with drones and ballistic missiles.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
It does not address what was most likely a U.S. strike on an elementary school in Iran during the initial hours of strikes. The military has yet to release an internal investigation into the bombing; NBC News reported in June that a report was being finalized.
The watchdog’s report details the damage to military equipment, aircraft and other materiel over the first four months of the war, including the destruction of at least 30 large U.S. drones.
It says the war with Iran has cost roughly $33.4 billion, which does not account for repairing damaged facilities. It does include $22.3 billion in expended munitions, $3.7 billion for equipment losses and $7.4 billion in other expenditures.
NBC News reported in July that the war had so far cost $80 billion to $100 billion, according to three U.S. officials and three people familiar with the internal cost estimates. The Pentagon publicly said in July that the war cost $37.5 billion. Its estimate does not include the cost of replacing aircraft, repairing U.S. bases and replenishing critical weaponry.
Trump initially said the war would last for only weeks. But over the weekend, he said it might not end until “right after” November’s midterm elections or perhaps before.
The report also finds that the war has displaced more than 20,000 U.S. military and diplomatic personnel, who were relocated at the outset of the conflict and in the days and weeks after.
Most medical evaluations of injured U.S. forces were carried out on the ground, some by local ambulances, and the patients were taken to local treatment facilities because airlift capabilities had been moved because of concerns.
And U.S. forces flew as many as 5,000 flights from European bases in support of the war, though Trump has bitterly complained that European allies have not done enough to help support the war.
The report catalogs some of the damage to U.S. aircraft and other military gear, as well as some of the American bases in the region. Aircraft costs, for example, include destruction or extensive damage to four F-15E jet fighters, an F-35A Joint Strike Fighter and an A-10 Warthog, which was also destroyed, according to the report. Twelve KC-135 refuelers and nine other aircraft were also destroyed, the report says. More than 30 MQ-9 drones had also been destroyed as of June, according to the report, citing the Congressional Research Service.
The State Department sustained more than $208 million in damage in four countries — Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — according to the report. That includes $184 million in damages to “diplomatic facilities” and $25 million more due to delays in construction projects, the report says.
The damage Iran inflicted on U.S. military bases had been far more extensive than is publicly known, NBC News reported in April. Iran also caused more damage to America’s intelligence and surveillance assets in the region than U.S. spy agencies have ever endured, and it is estimated to cost billions to repair, NBC News reported last month.
The report does not touch on the morale of U.S. troops who have been deployed as part of the war effort.
In recent weeks, concerns about deteriorating conditions for troops serving in the Middle East on the USS Abraham Lincoln during an extended deployment had escalated, and the Pentagon announced it was replacing the aircraft carrier.
The Lincoln is en route back to its port in San Diego after a stop in Thailand.
