The capacity of the United States, Israel, and Gulf Arab allies to withstand Iran’s retaliatory assault hinges on their inventory of missile interceptors, with supplies believed to be perilously depleted following intense conflict with Iran the previous year.
Tehran’s primary offensive strategy involves long-range assaults utilizing ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones, all of which it employed after Israeli strikes in June 2025.
In this instance, Iran responded to US and Israeli attacks by launching almost immediate barrages against Israel and nations such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
Countering such weaponry demands a significantly larger number of interceptors, as standard military protocol advises launching two or three at each incoming threat to ensure a higher probability of a successful hit. If the current intensity of Iranian attacks continues, interceptor stockpiles risk being exhausted within days, a source familiar with the situation indicated.
“Missile interceptors are a major worry, especially those designed to counter ballistic missiles,” stated Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center. “Our rate of consumption for these interceptors exceeds our production capacity.”
While dozens of Iranian missiles were shot down across the region on Saturday, several managed to penetrate defenses. The consequence of sustained strikes is clear: if Iran possesses more missiles than its adversaries have interceptors, an increasing number of attacks will successfully hit their targets.
“Magazine capacity was already low” for the US and its partner countries after the previous year’s events, remarked William Alberque, a senior adjunct fellow at the foreign policy research institute Pacific Forum.
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the US launched approximately 150 THAAD interceptors in June of the previous year to protect Israel during a 12-day war with Iran. These systems represent the most advanced ground-based missile defense in the US arsenal, with each interceptor from Corp. costing about $15 million. However, only a few dozen were acquired last year.
Such defensive weapons are engineered to destroy ballistic missiles outside Earth’s atmosphere. The expense of launching hundreds of these, along with other interceptor types, is staggering. A Bloomberg report from April 2024 estimated that it cost Israel, plus the American, British, French, and Jordanian air forces, roughly $1.1 billion to thwart Iranian missile and drone attacks, an effort that lasted only a few hours.
The US and Israeli militaries are expected to attempt to degrade Iran’s available missile and launcher stocks and target senior commanders to neutralize the threat.
The issue of which side possesses greater endurance is a grave one, noted Eyal Pinko, a former naval commander now conducting research at Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv.
“Many more attacks are imminent,” he stated during a Jerusalem Press Club briefing. “They possess vast stockpiles numbering in the thousands of missiles and drones. They will take all necessary measures to preserve the regime. This has escalated into a total war for their survival.”