Are the United States at Risk of Depleting Their Weapons Stockpile?
“Are the United States at Risk of Depleting Their Weapons Stockpile?”, wonders Al-Jazeera on Saturday, May 23. The question from the Qatari channel originates from a statement made by the US Navy Secretary two days earlier regarding an approved military equipment export deal to Taiwan, not yet ratified by Donald Trump. “So, now, we’ve made the decision to pause so that we have all the ammunition we need for the Epic Fury operation [name given to the military campaign in Iran] – and we have plenty,” said Hung Cao before the Senate in Washington.
“While he assures that this decision is not linked to an immediate shortage, evidence that the American military is burning through its munitions faster than it can replenish them is mounting,” certifies the media outlet based in Doha. “Thousands of missiles have been used since the start of the war on February 28,” confirms The Hill in Washington. “Almost all long-range stealth missiles have been used, while stocks of Tomahawks, Patriot interceptors, and ATACMS missiles have been drained.”
Contradictory Explanations
Surprise in Taipei: Taiwanese authorities assured on Friday that they were not informed of any “adjustments to American arms sales.” The remarks from the Navy Secretary also “contradict Donald Trump’s statements, who provided a different justification last week for pausing on the issue, stating that he intended to use the deal as leverage against China,” notes The Hill. “Arms sales to Taiwan, part of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, have nothing to do with the war in Iran,” said a source close to the matter to Reuters.
This statement by Hung Cao comes less than a week after the visit of the US president to Beijing. Following the meeting between the White House tenant and his counterpart Xi Jinping, the Taiwanese issue was carefully excluded from Washington’s statement. “We are not seeking for this or that to obtain independence,” he said to conservative channel Fox News aboard Air Force One on the way back. “A statement that has raised concerns in Taipei about a possible hardening of the American approach,” reports the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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/2026/05/23/6a11d9be5a25a179095594.jpg "War in the Middle East: United States mentions a possible agreement with Iran as early as Saturday, Tehran says finalize end-of")
