US President Donald Trump has lashed out at reports that the US is running short of key munitions in its war with Iran, threatening long prison sentences for officials who leak information about the military’s weapons stocks.
Trump on Thursday said that the US had “massive amounts” of ammunition, and that more was being manufactured and shipped to the region, as his frustration over the conflict spilled into a public attack on the media.
“Defense companies are building the largest number of plants and factories in our country’s history,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without providing evidence or details about the specific weapons in question.
Photo: AP
His remarks came after a report that he had demanded answers from US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth over alleged shortages at a Cabinet meeting on Friday last week at Camp David, the US presidential retreat in Maryland.
Trump told Hegseth he felt misled because he believed the problem “had been fixed,” a Washington Post newspaper report said, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the exchange.
Hegseth defended himself and sought to shift blame to his deputy, Stephen Feinberg, the Post said.
The president responded angrily on Thursday, accusing the media of spreading “treasonous statements” and warning that those responsible would be pursued.
“The ‘leakers’ of these treasonous statements are being hunted down,” he wrote. “Long term jail sentences will be sought!”
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported that Trump had ordered investigations into the disclosures about US munitions stockpiles.
CNN separately reported that shortages of long-range guided missiles and air defense interceptors had begun to constrain Trump’s strategy in the conflict. The US military had “nearly exhausted 80%” of its stock of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors, it said.
The Washington Post also reported that concerns over dwindling supplies had contributed to Trump calling off further strikes against Iran, despite his repeated threats to hit the Islamic republic “very hard.”
The White House and Pentagon rejected the claims. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described the account of the Camp David exchange as “FAKE NEWS!”
“I was at Camp David with President Trump and Secretary Hegseth. This literally never happened,” she wrote on X.
Seeking to quash speculation about Hegseth’s future, Leavitt insisted that “the President loves the Secretary and thinks he’s doing a tremendous job.”
Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesperson, dismissed the reports of a confrontation between Trump and Hegseth and claims of weapons shortages as “equally fictional.”
Trump himself weighed in later on Thursday.
“I am extremely happy with the job that Pete Hegseth is doing,” he wrote on social media, accusing outlets reporting otherwise of “spreading false and completely unfounded rumors.”
The increasingly public dispute comes as Trump seeks to project confidence over the course of the war. On Sunday he claimed he had ordered and subsequently called off “the biggest attack since” the World War II, in the light of fresh negotiations over the strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied that talks were taking place, despite Trump’s claim that Tehran was eager to reach a deal.
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