Stockpile depleted: USA fired 1,500 Patriot interceptors, Bin Salman urges restraint
According to the New York Times, fewer than 1,700 Patriot interceptors remain in US stocks, with annual production at only 600 units. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman warned Donald Trump that extensive strikes on Iran would trigger retaliatory attacks against energy infrastructure in the Gulf states.
The US military has fired more than 1,500 Patriot interceptors since the war with Iran began, leaving fewer than 1,700 units in stock, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing two officials familiar with the details.
The rapid depletion of the stockpile is occurring as Iran refines its attack methods, studies the vulnerabilities of American defense systems, and managed to penetrate them last month, causing heavy casualties.
$4 million per launch
The scale of use illustrates the severity of the shortage: in all of 2025, the US produced only about 600 interceptors. On one day during the Iranian attack wave in Jordan last month, American forces fired about 50 interceptors, each estimated to cost about four million dollars, totaling approximately $200 million in a single day.
For five days, Iran launched waves of missiles and drones at three American bases in Jordan. According to the report, it used advanced missiles capable of suddenly changing their trajectory, forcing defense systems to fire a large number of interceptors.
On July 17, one of the missiles penetrated the defensive perimeter and hit prefabricated buildings at the Muwaffaq Salti base in Azraq. Three American soldiers were killed, more than a hundred were wounded, and several aircraft were damaged.
"We shot down almost all the missiles," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after the attack. "One managed to get through." This incident contradicted the statement by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in April that the Iranian missile program had been "functionally destroyed."
Diplomatic pressure and threats
The shortage of munitions has influenced the political considerations of President Donald Trump. According to the Times, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman warned Trump in a phone call that extensive American strikes in Iran could trigger a response against energy facilities and infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.
A Saudi official stated that given the depletion of the interceptor stockpile and Iran's ability to penetrate defense systems, the fear of heavy damage was real. Bin Salman urged Trump to avoid escalation, and about two weeks ago, the president canceled planned strikes against Iran after the leaders of the UAE and Qatar also requested to pursue a diplomatic path.
At the same time, the Wall Street Journal revealed that Israel had passed intelligence to the Trump administration last month regarding a possible Iranian threat to target the presidential plane using shoulder-fired missiles. Following the warning, unprecedented measures were taken: Trump was secretly transferred to another military aircraft, while senior officials, including Rubio, remained on the presidential plane as part of a deception operation. Although no missile was fired, the Secret Service believed the Israeli intelligence justified exceptional protective measures.
