Pentagon and Media Warn of Critically Low Patriot Missile Stocks, as Diplomatic Channels of Pakistan and Turkey Attempt to De-escalate Conflict. Iran Halts Retaliatory Strikes.
US President Donald Trump has dismissed claims of an ammunition shortage for a full-scale war against Iran. "We have far more ammunition than anyone in the world, and far more than we need," Trump told The Wall Street Journal, as reported by TASS. The statement comes as the Pentagon abruptly halted its bombing campaign after 13 consecutive nights of airstrikes, following reports of a drastic drop in air defense missile stocks.
According to reports from NBC News and CNN, as cited by AMK Mapping, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine warned President Trump that interceptor stocks in the Middle East were dangerously low, leading to a temporary suspension of operations. La Repubblica reports that between February and April, US forces and Arab allies expended nearly 2,000 Patriot missiles defending against Iranian ballistic missiles and drones.
On the other hand, Axios reports (cited by Slavyangrad) that the top US commander in the Middle East, Admiral Brad Cooper, recommended halting the bombing because the strikes had, in his assessment, reached the limit of effectiveness. He presented this assessment to Trump during consultations on next steps.
Meanwhile, intense diplomatic activity has unfolded. Pakistani sources told Dawn that Islamabad maintained communication with Tehran, Washington, Riyadh, and Beijing during the US bombing campaign, and that these channels helped preserve room for negotiations. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan contacted Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir. According to Dawn, Islamabad and Doha intensified message exchanges between the warring parties after Washington and Tehran responded to a joint formula for ending the months-long war.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told Fox News (cited by Dawn) that Trump decided to halt the attacks to create space for diplomacy. "Trump is giving talks a little room... a little space," Waltz said, adding that forces remain ready but this is a deliberate pause.
Iranian military spokesman Mohammad Akraminia confirmed to Dawn that Tehran has also stopped its retaliatory operations. "These attacks continued until two nights ago, but in the last two nights the Americans stopped their attacks. Since our strategy was essentially retaliation, we also stopped our retaliatory operations," Akraminia said.
Meanwhile, the New York Times (cited by AMK Mapping) reveals that the Pentagon has changed its casualty reporting method, splitting figures across two separate websites, making it difficult to calculate the full number of losses. Since the war began on February 28, 2026, 18 US soldiers have been killed and 624 wounded. Since the escalation on July 7, 207 soldiers have been wounded, 142 more than the Pentagon previously reported. Four recent deaths in Jordan and Iraq, which temporarily disappeared from the main casualty page, have been restored under a new category: "Overseas Operations Losses."
