New Delhi: US Vice President J. D. Vance is increasingly questioning the depiction of the war with Iran by the Department of Defence, fearing that President Donald J. Trump is not being communicated the full picture of the situation. He is also worried whether the US has enough stockpiles of missiles, reported American magazine The Atlantic Monday.
“Two senior administration officials told us that the Vice President has queried the accuracy of the information the Pentagon has provided about the war. He has also expressed his concerns about the availability of certain missile systems in discussions with President Trump, several people familiar with the situation told us,” reported the magazine.
The Atlantic further added that Vance has been raising concerns about US missile stockpiles to Trump as “his own” rather than trying to blame Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and splitting the war cabinet.
The crux of Vance’s worries is over the stockpile of interceptors, and offensive missiles such as the Tomahawks and joint air-to-surface standoff missiles—critical munitions that the US is reportedly running low on.
“Even before the Iran war, stockpiles had been drained by lethargic manufacturing and munitions donations to Ukraine and Israel. Pentagon officials have warned that the deficits jeopardised the military’s ability to prevail in a hypothetical conflict against Russia or China,” noted the American magazine.
Vance’s skepticism before the US launched strikes on Iran has been reported. Even Trump has acknowledged that the Vice President was “less enthusiastic” about the war than other members of his administration.
However, the US Vice President has publicly defended the actions of the administration, and even led the negotiating team to the Pakistani capital of Islamabad earlier this month for direct talks with the Iranian delegation.
Vance, who has publicly opposed “forever wars”, and had served in Iraq as a combat correspondent, has staked his political career on being against American intervention abroad. The American Vice President had earlier spoken out against the military assistance given to Ukraine under the Biden administration, declaring that Moscow’s war with Kyiv is “not our war”.
In the weeks before the current conflict with Iran, Vance had remained sceptical of the war, highlighting the unpredictable consequence of such military action, according to a report by The New York Times, earlier this month.
Despite his private concerns, Vance has publicly defended Hegseth’s record as Secretary of Defence, and his work in returning a “warrior ethos” to the American military. Vance has focused on engaging with the military in closed door meetings through asking probing questions, according to the report by The Atlantic.
“Trump has echoed many of Hegseth’s and Caine’s positive statements about the war, declaring weeks ago that the damage wrought by US forces already constituted a victory and that US stockpiles of key weapons are “virtually unlimited”. Some advisers suggested that Hegseth’s sanguine portrayals and at times combative approach to the press appear designed to give the President what he wants to hear,” reported The Atlantic.
The report added: “Pentagon leaders’ positive portrayals present an incomplete picture at best, people familiar with intelligence assessments told us. According to those internal estimates, Iran retains two-thirds of its air force, the bulk of its missile-launching capability, and most of its small fast boats, which can lay mines and harass traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.”
The 40-day war between US-Israel and Iran has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz—the global waterway accounting for a fifth of international energy supplies. The original strikes by the US and Israel at the end of February led to the killing of the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The two sides declared a ceasefire on 8 April, with talks on 11 and 12 April in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Vance led the US delegation along with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
The talks did not lead to a final peace agreement. A second round of negotiations was set to take place in Islamabad last weekend, but failed to materialise after Iran maintained that no direct negotiations can be held as long as the US naval blockade remains in place.
While the ceasefire has been extended, the two sides have yet to find a breakthrough to end the conflict, while global energy markets continue to be impacted by the situation.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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