US Reportedly Used More Interceptors To Defend Israel In Iran War, Than Israel Did Itself

During Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. military expended more missiles defending Israel than Israeli forces expended, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The U.S. military fired more than 200 THAAD interceptors defending Israel during Operation Epic Fury, roughly half of the Pentagon’s total inventory, The Post reported, citing Defense Department assessments and U.S. officials granted anonymity to discuss national security matters. U.S. naval vessels in the eastern Mediterranean also fired more than 100 SM-3 and SM-6 interceptors, according to the outlet.

Israel fired fewer than 100 Arrow interceptors and about 90 David’s Sling interceptors, the Post reported. One U.S. government official told the outlet that the U.S. fired roughly 120 more interceptors than Israel and engaged twice as many Iranian missiles.

“We do not discuss munitions for operational security reasons,” a Department of War official told the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation. “It would be inappropriate for us to speculate on hypothetical future situations.”

“Israel is not capable of fighting and winning wars on its own, but nobody actually knows this, because they never see the back end,” the Post reported, citing a U.S. government official.

The reported imbalance puts fresh scrutiny on the cost of defending Israel during the Iran war, particularly as President Donald Trump weighs whether to resume hostilities with Tehran.

“I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, The Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Daniel Caine, and The United States Military, that we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached,” Trump said in a