U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that reports of U.S. munitions stockpiles being heavily depleted during the war in Iran are false and that the military is stockpiling weapons in the meantime.
U.S. military forces “have virtually unlimited amounts of Mid to High Grade Ammunition, far more than we could ever use for this, or for any other War (which is highly unlikely!), that could improbably take place,” he wrote in a Truth Social post on Thursday.
Chiding what he described as “treasonous” media outlets that do not accurately report on the U.S. military campaign against Iran, Trump wrote that the United States is producing munitions at “levels never seen before.”
In his social media post, Trump did not make mention of specific reports alleging otherwise. But throughout the United States’ conflict with Iran that started in February, there have been reports citing anonymous sources claiming U.S. munitions have been depleted.
“We are taking them for ourselves, the U.S.A., rather than selling them to others, but the sales to Allies will soon again, begin,” he said, referring to the munitions that are being stockpiled.
Also on Thursday, the president wrote that his administration would be seeking funds from Europe for U.S. military aid that was provided to Ukraine for its conflict with Russia.
“Please let it be known, that the Biden Administration gave far more Munitions away to Ukraine, at no cost to them, whatsoever, than we have used in Iran,” Trump said in the post.
Hundreds of billions in military aid “was given to Ukraine and NATO, free of charge, that Europe would have paid for—If they were only asked, but we will be asking for that money, though somewhat belatedly,” he added.
In August, the Pentagon asked defense industry leaders to report their plans to boost munitions stockpiles in a memo that was confirmed to The Epoch Times by a Department of War spokesman.
Deputy War Secretary Steve Feinberg wrote to industry leaders in an Aug. 5 memo that they had 21 days to provide plans to the department to “drive significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production for critical capabilities.”
“Years-long development cycles are not acceptable,” Feinberg wrote. “We must dramatically accelerate our program schedules and expand our production capacity now.”
An analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, released earlier this year, discovered that the U.S. military had enough missiles to keep up its war with Iran under multiple scenarios. However, the Washington-based organization said that continued usage of those munitions could create a shortfall should a future conflict occur.
This week, the United States launched strikes against Iran again after a more than one-month lull in fighting, targeting air defenses, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities, and communications sites on Tuesday.
In response, Iran struck what it said were U.S. assets in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Iraq, and it also said its aim was now to drive U.S. forces from the vast network of military bases they have maintained for decades across the Middle East.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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