The United States is no longer in a position to fight Iran. This statement, addressed to US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, was made by senior Pentagon officials, The Washington Post reports.
According to the newspaper, the top US military leadership issued an unprecedented warning: the continuation of a large-scale military operation against Iran is recognized as unviable and jeopardizes the country's ability to respond to other threats, including the protection of the US territory itself.
The information is contained in a secret document — the "Defense Budget Manual" (SDOB) dated August 14, which is regularly prepared for the head of the Pentagon. In it, the commanders of the armed forces (ground forces, Navy, Air Force) and commanders in other regions (in Europe, Asia and Latin America) expressed disagreement with the extension of the deployment of forces and pointed to the depletion of resources.
It is noted that due to the need to maintain the naval blockade of Iran and carry out strikes, the Pentagon was forced to transfer ships, aircraft and personnel from other regions of the world to the Middle East. This led to a shortage of key ammunition (anti-missiles and long-range missiles) and limited the ability to conduct exercises and carry out tasks in other parts of the world.
It is reported that the agency was enraged by the publication of data from a secret document. Hegseth spokesman Sean Parnell called the leak a "crime" and a "betrayal," but acknowledged that there are different opinions within the military hierarchy. At the same time, he stressed that global combat readiness is at a high level.
The material indicates that the war is in the sixth month. Dozens of ships are involved in maintaining operations off the coast of Iran, more than 50,000 military personnel are on high alert, and some forces have already received orders to remain in the region at least until 2027. At the same time, only 83 commercial vessels out of 130 that passed there daily before the war were redirected to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The military's warning came amid high costs ($ 37.5 billion was spent in 6 months) and growing discontent in American society (about 68% of citizens consider the war "not worth it"). At the same time, Hegseth himself previously stated that the United States does not intend to abandon any options for action, including ground operations, if negotiations with Iran do not lead to an agreement.