After the United States and Israel attacked Iran, Gulf countries drawn into the war have scrambled to secure air-defense interceptor missiles.

According to the Financial Times (FT) on the 4th (local time), the United States recently promised additional supplies of interceptor missiles to Gulf states, but actual deliveries have not yet taken place.

Interceptor missiles are the core munitions of the Patriot air-defense system and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), which major U.S. defense contractors have sold for billions of dollars. However, since the Russia-Ukraine war, supplies have already been tight, and the Iran crisis has caused demand to surge, further intensifying the shortage of interceptor missiles.

A senior official told the FT that “Israel and the Gulf states are rapidly depleting their interceptor inventories at the same time, making resupply difficult.” Another official said, “We are trying to procure anything on the market right now,” adding, “There is a mood to buy whatever is needed.”

Most of the missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) launched by Iran were intercepted by air-defense systems, but some struck hotels, airports, energy facilities, and U.S. military bases.

In the Middle East, complaints have reportedly surfaced that the United States is prioritizing Israel's defense over that of the Gulf states. Saudi political analyst Sulaiman Al-Okaili said, “U.S. defense is focused on Israel, not the Gulf states,” noting, “However, many U.S. bases are in the Gulf region.”

Some analyses suggest the course of the war hinges on which side exhausts its ammunition first. Whether Iran's supply of missiles and drones runs out first, or the United States and its allies' interceptor missiles are depleted first, is cited as the key variable determining whether the war continues.

Tom Karako, who leads the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the FT, “Our interception capability is excellent, but we do not have an air-defense network sufficient to stop every missile.”

Accordingly, the United States and Israel are reportedly moving to intensify a tactic of preemptively striking Iran's launchers and missile storage facilities to eliminate the source of attacks before interceptor stocks are exhausted. The United States and Israel hit about 4,000 targets within four days of combat, according to official announcements. This is comparable to the number of missiles Israel fired during last June's ‘12-day war’ between the U.S.-Israel side and Iran.