US has used ‘almost all’ interceptors, most Tomahawks in Iran war, warns Democratic Senator

Washington: Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said that the United States had used “almost all” its interceptors and most of its Tomahawk missiles in the Iran war, warning that depleted stockpiles had left the country and its allies in a dangerous position.

Murphy, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, made the assertion as the Pentagon seeks another $67 billion in defence funding, partly to replace weapons expended during nearly five months of fighting.

“We have used up almost all of our interceptors, the majority of our tomahawks,” the Connecticut senator told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

“We have put the United States in a dangerous position. We have allowed Russia and China to imagine things that they couldn’t have imagined early because of our inability to defend ourselves and our allies,” he said.

President Donald Trump has acknowledged uneven supplies among different categories of US munitions.

“We have certain types of munitions that are very powerful, that we have unlimited virtual unlimited supply. We have others where it’s a little bit tighter,” Trump said in remarks aired by the programme.

Murphy said he would oppose more money while the war continued. But he left the door open to financing a replenishment effort once the conflict ended.

“If the war comes to an end, if the president ends this war, then, yes, of course, I and my colleagues will be ready to provide the funding to replenish the stores of munitions that have been spent,” he said.

Murphy argued that ending the conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz must take priority. He said he would be prepared to accept an unfavourable agreement because continued fighting was weakening the United States and raising prices for Americans.

“I am prepared to support a bad deal, to end this war and reopen the Strait, because the only deal that is available, at this point of — in time, is a terrible bad deal,” Murphy said.

Republican Senator Jim Banks offered a sharply different assessment of the military campaign. He defended Trump’s record and said the operation had badly damaged Iran’s military capacity.

Banks said US forces had succeeded in “wiping out 85% of Iran’s ballistic missiles, Iran’s defense industrial base” and preventing Tehran from achieving its goal of acquiring a nuclear weapon.

“President Trump is the first president in 47 years who’s had the guts to stand up to the regime there and tell them that they’re not going to get away with it,” the Indiana senator said.

Banks also credited Trump’s naval blockade with crippling Iran’s economy. He said the campaign would produce lasting peace and demonstrate American strength.

Separately, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said the US Navy was escorting ships out of the Gulf. He told CNN that Washington had also increased domestic oil production and waived the Jones Act to move Gulf-produced oil to the US East and West coasts.

“Prices are still higher than we would like, but we have taken a lot of steps so that, when the Gulf situation is resolved, then we could expect prices to go way, way down because of all these new measures that we have taken,” Hassett said.

IANS