US allies facing five-year delay in missile deliveries – Bloomberg
Published 19 Sep, 2026 14:03 | Updated 19 Sep, 2026 15:05
The US has warned its allies that deliveries of key missile systems are likely to be delayed by several years due to depleted weapons stocks amid the Iran war, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing sources. The shortage is also complicating EU efforts to support Kiev with desperately needed air defense ammunition, the article says.
In this vein, Germany asked Washington to accelerate deliveries of Tomahawk cruise missiles and ground-based Typhon launchers, but Raytheon is unlikely to fulfill the order within five years because of stock deficits, according to the outlet. Some Eastern European countries have also experienced delays since shortly after the US-Israeli war on Iran began, Bloomberg sources have claimed.
While US President Donald Trump has rejected claims that the Iran war has left the US short of ammunition, the Pentagon has publicly acknowledged the strain. Earlier this week, the Defense Department inspector general reported that heavy weapons expenditure in the Iran campaign “has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply.”
A separate Congressional Budget Office assessment said that the US had consumed between one-half and two-thirds of its inventory of certain missile-defense interceptors since June 2025, adding that rebuilding those stocks could take at least five years even if production increases.
The apparent squeeze has been a particularly pressing problem for Ukraine, which needs sophisticated foreign interceptors to shoot down Russian missiles targeting its defense-related facilities. The Washington Post reported in May that Kiev was “almost completely out” of PAC-3 interceptors used by Patriot batteries, while US allies in Europe grew increasingly concerned that depleted American stocks could disrupt the PURL program under which they pay Washington to supply weapons to Ukraine.
Vladimir Zelensky admitted last month that Kiev’s backers had supplied only about one-third as many air-defense missiles in 2026 as during the same period in 2025. At the same time, Ukrainian forces on several occasions acknowledged failing to intercept a single Russian missile during overnight strikes.
To address the issue, European leaders are expected to press Trump for more Patriots for Ukraine during UN meetings next week, Bloomberg said. EU officials are also reportedly seeking US licenses that would allow European countries to manufacture Patriot missiles themselves.
Moscow has consistently argued that Western military aid only prolongs the Ukraine conflict without changing its outcome. Earlier this month, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov suggested that the US could help end the conflict sooner by “first and foremost stopping any assistance to Kiev.”
Of course, prolonging the war is the whole point. Western taxpayers contribute to the exorbitant wealth of arms manufacturers, who then contribute to political parties that support perpetual war.
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More US troops died in Iran war than Pentagon disclosed – WaPo
Published 19 Sep, 2026 10:26 | Updated 19 Sep, 2026 11:30
The number of US service members who have died while deployed in the Middle East since the start of the Iran war is higher than the Pentagon’s public tally, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing military sources. The Pentagon’s public casualty database may be missing as many as five military fatalities, according to the report.
As of Friday, the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) listed 18 US military fatalities, including deaths from hostile and non-hostile action since the Iran war began on February 28.
Five sources, however, told the outlet there have been at least 22 military fatalities, while a sixth put the toll even higher, saying 23 service members have died since the war began. Not all of the additional deaths were directly tied to the conflict, the official said, but involved US personnel stationed in the Middle East amid the ongoing hostilities. Three US contractors based in the region have also died since combat operations began, the official added.
It is unclear whether the discrepancy was intended to downplay the war’s toll or stemmed from administrative procedures for classifying military deaths.
The US administration’s casualty accounting already faced scrutiny in July, when the Pentagon briefly removed four Iran war deaths from its public tally during a since-failed ceasefire – three troops killed in an Iranian missile strike on a US base in Jordan and another killed the next day during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone in Iraq. The Pentagon blamed a data-processing error after the removals drew congressional scrutiny. The deaths later reappeared alongside some 207 wounded personnel, but under “Overseas Contingency Operations” rather than Operation Epic Fury, the administration’s name for the Iran war.
Separately, the Pentagon said two US service members have died in the Middle East since February on missions unrelated to the war. Sgt. Devin Seibel was killed in a training accident in Irbil, Iraq, on May 31, while Maj. Sorffly Davius died after an unspecified medical emergency in Kuwait on March 6. Neither is named in DCAS, despite dying at bases attacked by Iranian forces.
“This is DISGUSTING and FAKE… Shame on the Washington Post – they’re worse than Iranian state media,” he wrote.
An increasingly unpopular war
Despite US President Donald Trump insisting the war has been a success – even claiming at times that “Americans aren’t against the war” – polling indicates growing public opposition. A September Reuters/Ipsos poll found 28% support Trump’s approach to Iran, while 62% disapprove.
The war has also deepened divisions in Congress ahead of the November midterms. Congressional Democrats have overwhelmingly opposed the conflict, making its multibillion-dollar cost and economic fallout – including gasoline prices approaching $5 a gallon – campaign issues. They have also pledged to investigate the Pentagon’s handling of casualty notifications if they retake the majority.
While most House Republicans have voted to block anti-war resolutions, some GOP lawmakers have broken ranks, backing bipartisan efforts to invoke war-powers restrictions or halt funding for the conflict. Representative Thomas Massie (KY) also moved this week to force a House vote on impeaching Hegseth, alleging he violated the War Powers Resolution of 1973 by pursuing hostilities without congressional authorization.
The war has cost the US $43.6 billion through September 3, including $28.1 billion in munitions expended, according to CENTCOM figures shared with lawmakers and the media on Friday. The total excludes extensive damage to US bases across eight Middle Eastern countries. Senior military officials reportedly warned Hegseth last month that prolonged large-scale operations against Iran were unsustainable.
Trump, however, insists the war will end soon, telling reporters last week it would likely stop immediately after the midterms. He told Axios on Thursday that he faces “a big decision” over whether to restart major combat operations to end the conflict.
Iran, meanwhile, has refused to cave to Trump’s threats, with Parliament Speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warning earlier this month of “faster, heavier and more painful” retaliation against further US aggression. On Friday, Tehran showcased a new volunteer force that will receive limited military and emergency training to support the IRGC. IRGC chief Hassan Hassanzadeh told state broadcaster IRIB that over 600,000 people had registered, with more than one million expected to undergo training.
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NATO member warns bloc seeking pretext for war with Russia
Published 18 Sep, 2026 09:06 | Updated 18 Sep, 2026 10:13
Europe is moving dangerously close to a direct clash between NATO and Russia, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has warned, accusing the West of seeking a “pretext” for a major conflict between the two sides.
Fico made the comment in a Facebook post on Thursday, which accompanied the remarks he delivered before traveling to Ukraine for a meeting with Vladimir Zelensky and several European leaders.
“I am deeply concerned that they are merely looking for a pretext for a major conflict between NATO and Russia,” he wrote.
Reflecting on the Ukraine conflict, Fico said that the hostilities had “gotten out of control,” while accusing European nations of engaging in increasingly bellicose rhetoric which he said risked dragging the continent into a broader war. “The situation has never been as serious and tense regarding the possibility of a pan-European war conflict as it is now,” he said.
Fico also warned that Bratislava could face pressure from NATO to commit troops if the bloc’s Article 5 – a collective defense clause applied if a member state is attacked – is invoked. “Can anyone imagine being told to prepare 5,000 soldiers, 10,000 soldiers, and that they would go somewhere to fight? We don’t know with whom, why, or for what reason,” Fico said.
The reason is always the same; to keep the arms inventories moving and Western tax money flowing to arms makers.
“I don’t want Slovakia to be part of any military conflict because of some Article 5,” he stressed, adding that, though his country still “cares about collaboration and fulfilling obligations”. “As prime minister, I will do everything to ensure that Slovakia is never drawn into a war,” Fico stressed.
Fico has consistently opposed military support for Ukraine since returning to office in 2023 while halting government weapons shipments to Kiev. He has also opposed Kiev’s accession to NATO, and insisted that Ukraine’s EU membership is only possible if it meets all the requirements.
He has also argued that the West’s strategy to “bring Russia to its knees” had “completely failed.” “The European Union does not need more weapons and Russophobia. The European Union needs more diplomacy and concrete plans to help the economy,” Fico said last month.
Russia has accused the EU of rapid militarization, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying the bloc is directing increasing military capabilities against Moscow while portraying it as an enemy.
President Vladimir Putin has consistently rejected claims that Moscow intends to attack NATO countries, but warned last week that deploying European forces to Ukraine “would mean war with Russia.” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also stressed that Russia has no intention of attacking the West but warned that if Europe attacked first, the resulting conflict would be “very short.”
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