US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday dismissed accusations that the war on Iran has depleted US missile and munitions stockpiles, with Democrats saying the country has been left vulnerable to attack.
"We know exactly what we have. We have plenty of what we need," Hegseth said during a hearing before a House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees defence spending.
Democratic Senator Mark Kelly sparked debate on Sunday, saying he found it “shocking” how depleted certain munitions were due to the war, citing Pentagon briefings on Tomahawk, ATACMS and Patriot missile stocks.
Kelly, who sits on the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees, said on the CBS programme "Face The Nation" that it would take "years" to replenish those stocks.
He warned that the US might be unable to defend itself in case of a sustained attack as a result of President Donald Trump's war on Iran, which he said was launched “without a strategic goal, without a plan, without a timeline.”
"Of course, we're going to be in a worse posture than we otherwise would be in if this war in Iran didn't happen," Kelly said.
Hegseth described the issue highlighted by Kelly as "foolishly and unhelpfully overstated."
Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine stressed that US regional commands had reported "sufficient munitions" for their current missions.
