The US president is under pressure to hit back at Iran after the deaths of three US service members over the weekend. But rumours are spreading across the administration that the Pentagon is concealing a shortage of interceptor missiles, which are needed to resume the war. There are also suggestions that the White House does not want to know about the scale of the shortfall. Sharing “bad news, or realistic news, doesn’t seem to end well for anybody”, an insider told The Telegraph. Another said a “culture of silence” was causing problems for Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary. Analysis by the Royal United Services Institute in March calculated the US and its allies had burned through more than 11,000 munitions in the first 16 days of war, and predicted they were a month away from running out of critical munitions. Mr Trump has put the US on a war footing in recent days, suggesting the war on Tehran could resume with greater ferocity and on a greater scale than before. Following the deaths of two US service members at an air base in Jordan, and a third in Iraq, the president declared on Monday: “Every time Iran kills an American soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!” Mr Trump, writing on social media, said he had passed that directive to Mr Hegseth, Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and other military leaders.

F-35 and F-16 fighter jets, from bases in Britain and Germany, have reportedly been deployed to the Middle East, while aerial refuelling aircraft are said to be on the way. The US has recently struck bridges around Bandar Abbas, one of Iran’s few major ports. Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened to hit Iran’s civilian infrastructure, but has stepped back from the brink until now. US forces had largely concentrated their fire on Iranian targets along the coast, but after the ceasefire collapsed last week, targets have moved inland. One source said the Pentagon was growing convinced that the way to unblock the Strait of Hormuz was by escalating the conflict and becoming more aggressive. Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian president, said on Monday his country was engaged in a “full-scale war”, but questions are being raised about whether the US is prepared to resume a fully fledged conflict. A ceasefire came into effect in early April and, although marred by tit-for-tat strikes between the US and Iran, helped conserve munitions supplies. But the reported shortage would undermine any attempts from the US side to escalate, and pose an increasing risk to American troops. Ryan Brobst, of the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said there were particular concerns about US stocks of Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) interceptors and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (Pac-3) missiles. “The main effect of depleting air and missile defence stockpiles is that you assume more risk to forces being targeted,” he said. “So, for example, you would launch one interceptor at an incoming missile instead of two interceptors at an incoming missile, which would then decrease the probability that you actually intercept it.” The US military’s stockpile of Tomahawk and Thaad missiles have plummeted since Operation Epic Fury. Projections by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies suggest it will take until 2031 to restore Tomahawk stocks to pre-Epic Fury levels and 2029 for Thaads.

US stockpiles are a closely guarded secret within the administration, with relatively few people having access to the information. The question now being raised is whether they are being kept fully informed. There is concern that members of the Pentagon are reluctant to deliver frank assessments to Mr Hegseth that potentially leave them exposed and in the line of fire. Some are now questioning whether the administration’s moves to escalate the war are being made with a clear-eyed assessment of the military realities and the risk to American troops. A source told The Telegraph that a culture of silence had taken hold as Mr Hegseth had acquired a reputation for purging senior members of the military. “I question how honest the Pentagon is being with [Mr Hegseth] or the White House, since bad news, or realistic news, doesn’t seem to end well for anybody,” the individual said. “Everybody is doing the best they can to keep the [department] running as efficiently as possible for the sake of our troops, in spite of the chaos factor above us – and also keep our heads in the process.” Another source said: “This culture of silence has been a problem [for Hegseth] since he shrunk his circle to just a handful of individuals. “When he advises the president, or when he goes to Congress, he doesn’t have full information because his top aides are trying to stay off his radar.” Mike Duffey, who would take a key role in replenishing missile stock as the Pentagon’s under-secretary for acquisition, is a “nice guy” but “very loath to bring bad news to Pete” and “pretty much stays out of his orbit”, the source added.

A US official told the Washington Post that the US was “planning for a wider war” but that this would be limited by dwindling stockpiles of air defences and long-range munitions. “We do not have enough to safely sustain operations, and I don’t think the White House is aware of that,” the official said. It is not the first time that the Pentagon has been accused of a lack of transparency in how it is conducting the war. The department did not disclose three strikes against US forces last week, which injured dozens of US soldiers and damaged several helicopters, according to The New York Times. The Pentagon insisted the military had not withheld or misrepresented US casualties in the war. “Claims of concealment are fabrications meant to further distress the American people in the wake of three service members killed in action,” said Sean Parnell, its chief spokesman. Last Tuesday, Democrats blocked the $1.15tn (£860bn) defence bill known as the National Defence Authorisation Act, complaining that Congress had been left in the dark by the Trump administration. Anna Kelly, a White House spokesman, insisted the military had enough stockpiles of munitions. “The United States military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and stockpiles to serve all of President Trump’s strategic goals and beyond, and Operation Epic Fury has exposed what happens when you mess with the United States,” she said. “Even still, the president has urged our defence contractors to constantly produce more made in America weapons, which are the best in the world. Democrats destroyed our military, but President Trump rebuilt it.”

The Pentagon faces an urgent budget shortfall caused largely by the war in Iran, with some critical lines of funding set to run out within weeks even as President Donald Trump escalates the conflict with Tehran, according to lawmakers and current and former U.S. officials. The funding crunch is already leading the Pentagon to limit training and maintenance that help maintain military readiness, according to four current and former officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to candidly describe the budget constraints. And the collapsed ceasefire with Iran could further strain the military’s budget: After four U.S. service members died during more than a week of intensified fighting, officials in Washington signaled they were preparing for a wider conflict. The White House has asked Congress for an immediate infusion of $67 billion to help cover the costs of the war, but lawmakers are gridlocked over how to proceed. The House plans to leave Washington on Thursday for a month-long recess, leaving any deal on military funding weeks away at the earliest. “Everybody needs to look at this situation and get rid of the complacency that they have,” Rep. Pat Harrigan (North Carolina), a Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in an interview. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment Monday. On Tuesday, after this article published, press secretary Sean Parnell said in a statement that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would “do whatever is necessary” to preserve military readiness and that defense funding is “essential.”

On Tuesday, Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine are scheduled to make their case for the money before the Senate Appropriations Committee — the first public hearing centered on the package. They last appeared on Capitol Hill in May, before a tenuous ceasefire broke down. White House budget director Russell Vought is also set to address Republican lawmakers Tuesday morning. Unless Congress acts, multiple current and former officials said the military will quickly be forced to make even more painful trade-offs. Trump launched the airstrike campaign in late February, repeatedly saying it would end within weeks. The conflict has instead lasted for months as Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz — a vital waterway for the oil and fertilizer trade — and caused turmoil in the global economy. Vought told lawmakers last month that the war had so far cost about $30 billion, but some independent analysts say the price tag is likely much higher. The White House estimate does not include the cost of rebuilding U.S. bases in the Middle East damaged by Iranian strikes.

yeah, 'cause, uh, they're probably not gonna rebuild those

The conflict has put unexpected stress on the Navy and Air Force, which have deployed aircraft and warships to the Middle East. Parts of the 2026 budget covering ongoing military operations for both services are on track to run out by the end of this month, according to two congressional aides, speaking on the condition of anonymity to candidly describe a sensitive budget situation.

they... ran through their yearly budget in a few months of a moderately-intense bombardment & blockading campaign... just... how? what were all these massive budgets even for!?

To bridge the gap until the 2027 fiscal year begins on Oct. 1, the Pentagon is already moving money around. Military exercises and trainings that help keep units prepared for combat are being limited or canceled, the four current and former officials said. The budget for equipment and facility and maintenance is also being drained to cover the shortfalls, the officials said.

you know what will help our massive readiness issues? that's right, cutting maintenance budgets!

In recent weeks, the Pentagon has asked Congress for permission to reallocate $4.3 billion from trainings and weapons purchases to address more urgent priorities, according to a document reviewed by The Washington Post. Congress has yet to act on that request. A Trump administration official said the White House budget office was working to move some funding to the Pentagon’s operations and maintenance accounts. Doing so would come at the cost of other key programs, the person said, without offering further specifics. NBC News previously reported on some of the military’s budget constraints. Meanwhile, House Republicans are crafting a package using a complicated tool known as reconciliation to try to speed some money through Congress. The House is expected to vote this week on a framework that would authorize $73 billion in fresh defense spending, slightly more than the White House request. But that strategy faces significant hurdles in the Senate, where Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) has cast doubt on its prospects. Democrats have mostly said they oppose any new funding for the Iran conflict as part of a legislative blockade of major defense bills while the administration pursues a war that has drawn bipartisan objections. Even lawmakers open to additional funding — including some Republicans — have expressed frustration at the Pentagon’s delays in communicating with Congress.

When Hegseth testified before the House panel on defense spending in April, committee leaders urged him to provide information on the war’s costs as soon as possible. The Pentagon later missed the panel’s deadline and has since failed to share requested details for weeks, including the number of precision weapons the military has in its inventories after burning through thousands of munitions in Iran, according to lawmakers and congressional aides. “We need to know what we’re purchasing and why we’re purchasing it,” Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the panel, said in an interview. Hegseth has at times dismissed concerns about munitions shortages, telling CBS News in an interview last month that U.S. stockpiles were “great, and they’re only getting stronger.” In private, Pentagon officials have expressed far greater anxiety, according to current and former officials, arguing that the military desperately needs more money to restock munitions needed to deter U.S. adversaries like Russia and China. After receiving a private briefing from top Pentagon officials, McCollum said replenishing these weapons was clearly a top administration priority and that Pentagon officials other than Hegseth were “very concerned” that lawmakers were not receiving the information they needed to make decisions on additional funding.

This year’s defense budget is about $1 trillion including $150 billion in one-time funding Congress approved last year for a range of military priorities, from advanced weapons systems to energizing the U.S. defense industry. The Trump administration has requested $1.5 trillion for 2027, a massive increase that has sparked a fierce debate on Capitol Hill. Some lawmakers in both parties have shown discomfort with the total, due to concerns about adding to the $39 trillion national debt and financing an unpopular war. A recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll found that only 28 percent of Americans say the war has been worth fighting, compared with 68 percent who say it was not — on par with the worst assessments of the war in Afghanistan. Work on spending bills has been stalled in the Senate because of a stand-off among appropriators. Democrats have refused to support any fiscal year 2027 funding until a deal is reached on overall spending levels, as they oppose the hike in defense spending put forward by Republicans. Unexpected absences on the Senate Appropriations Committee have further complicated Republican efforts to begin some work on spending measures. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), who chairs the panel on defense spending, has missed votes for a month while recovering from an injury. And Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), another member of the panel, died suddenly last week from what a medical examiner preliminarily ruled an aortic dissection.

lol. getting your legislature paralyzed because you kept a bunch of decrepit lich-lords in power too long and they all croaked in the middle of really important negotiations

Harrigan, the North Carolina Republican, mostly faulted Democrats for the broader budget impasse but acknowledged that his party also deserves some blame. “There’s no question,” Harrigan said, “that every portion of those responsible for bringing the defense budget across the finish line — to include the Pentagon — are complicit.”

Surge in violence

Ukraine's military ombudswoman says such attacks are now "regular" and "a major problem" as the country struggles to mobilise men to fight in the fifth, draining year of Russia's full-scale invasion. It's not a topic people here care to discuss much, wary of feeding Russian propaganda. But the latest National Police Service report recorded more than 600 assaults on recruitment officers to date and warned that the aggression has become "increasingly threatening". The first big alert came in April when several recruiters were stabbed, one fatally. Then this month in Lviv, some 200 protesters surrounded officers attempting to detain a suspected draft dodger and smashed and overturned their car. The riot made headlines as President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned violence against serving soldiers. His controversial decision since then to sack Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov – over a clash of character and vision with Ukraine's commander-in-chief – means attempts to address the conscription crisis will stall. But the anger that just exploded in Lviv suggests that the need is urgent.

'Busification'

The reasons appear to range from plain fear of the front line – now everyone knows someone who's been injured or killed - to a reluctance to sign up for a war that has no end in sight. The only surge of enthusiasm since the initial rush to the front was in late 2023, when Ukraine launched a counter-offensive to seize back territory in the south-east. It didn't last. That's when the "brutal mobilisation" phase began, according to opposition MP Oleksandr Honcharenko. He blames that for the backlash. "These officers are hunting for people on the streets and sometimes using quite violent methods," the MP says. "Violence leads to violence. It's a huge problem and it's going to get worse." Military analyst Ivan Stupak agrees. "We started to suffer a lack of manpower on the battlefield, constant losses," he recalls. "Ukraine's high command had to refill these losses so they started busification." That's the term Ukrainians use for mobile patrols that end up with men bundled into buses, and off to serve. "When they need an extra 5,000 men, they start grabbing them - and if they refuse it turns into fights on the street."

The professor's story

So for every story of a draft officer attacked, there are accounts of violence by recruiters themselves. Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner recorded more than 6,000 such complaints last year - double the 2024 tally. They include claims of abuse and unlawful detention as well as poor conditions at recruitment centres. Kyrylo Ogdansky still gets upset when he talks about what happened to him in Dnipro last November. The university professor, who is exempt from the draft, was approached in the street by a man in plain clothes who wanted to check his call-up status. There are rules about such patrols, including having police officers present, so Ogdansky objected. Then he was assaulted. "One of them knocked the phone from my hand and two pushed me into the bus from behind. When I asked what's happening, one started to beat me to the head. He hit me in the nose several times," Ogdansky tells me. He remembers the threat to send him straight to the front line. "He said 'I can call the commander and you'll go to Pokrovsk'." Instead, the professor spent two weeks in hospital with a suspected neck injury and big purple-black bruises beneath his eyes. He has made formal official complaints but was hesitant about speaking publicly, aware that such things look bad for Ukraine in the middle of a war. "Russian propaganda uses such things very actively. But such a problem exists," Ogdansky explains his decision. "If everyone is silent, then why would it stop? I understand the problem of conscription, but no official has the right to act like this."

Vasyl's story

It's clear that Vasyl Krupych experienced horrors at war. He volunteered at the very start and has survived some of the grimmest battles. Krupych is proud of his service - a tattoo on his neck declares "Glory to the Ukrainian Armed Forces" – but he suffers from nightmares. When his vehicle was hit by an FPV drone, he was badly injured but managed to drag one friend to safety. He saw two others burned to death. Now, when we discuss the increase in attacks against draft officers, his words drip with hurt. It's not just about what he suffered himself: that case is still going through the courts. It's also the gulf between what he has endured and those doing everything possible to avoid the same. "We are doing our duty. We fought, we defended our people - and now they are attacking us." I wonder what he thinks might motivate people to serve, instead of coercing them, and he mentions raising salaries. But then he shrugs. "It can't be done differently, it can't. Our lads need to be replaced. But nobody volunteers," he says. "Everyone is afraid to die."

What to do?

In his six months as defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov did start introducing reforms to tackle the growing crisis. He began with moves meant to make military service more attractive: fixed-term contracts for new recruits, with the option to defer further service, and better salaries, especially for the riskiest roles. But it was an early work in progress and overhauling conscription was still on his to-do list when he was sacked. Proposals have included handing draft patrols over to police, who are less personally invested in the task. There's talk of proper training, too, for officers, and psychological screening. Ukraine does admit openly that it has a problem, which is new. But it now has only an acting defence minister, and still no solution.