Agence de presse internationale AhlulBayt (ABNA) : The British newspaper The Guardian, citing documents it obtained as well as interviews with US Navy officials, contractors and military analysts, reported that the war waged by the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran has significantly depleted US ammunition stocks.
At the same time, Iranian retaliatory strikes against strategic US bases across the Middle East have reportedly caused damage to American military infrastructure, further increasing pressure on the US defense budget.
According to a US Navy financing memorandum prepared by the Pentagon and obtained by The Guardian, accounts allocated for military personnel salaries have faced budget shortfalls after part of their funding was redirected to cover the costs of the war against Iran.
Harlan Ullman, a retired US Navy officer and member of the National Commission on the Future of the Navy, told the newspaper that available financial resources were running out.
A US Navy official and a Navy contractor also said that some non-urgent maintenance activities at shore facilities had been postponed because of the liquidity crisis.
Budget Transfers to Finance the War Against Iran
Financial pressure on the US military reportedly increased rapidly shortly after the beginning of the war against Iran, particularly within the Navy, which participated in the initial wave of attacks and later assumed responsibilities linked to a wider maritime blockade.
According to a US Navy official familiar with efforts to address the budget shortfall, funds have been moved between different budget categories. The official explained that part of the money originally allocated for personnel salaries had been used to cover war-related expenses and was subsequently replaced with funds that had not been spent elsewhere, allowing military salaries to continue being paid on time.
The US Navy’s budget for fiscal year 2026 is approximately $300 billion. It is divided among areas designated by Congress, including personnel, shipbuilding, weapons procurement, operations and maintenance.
The latter category covers the day-to-day costs of operating the fleet and military bases. However, US law imposes restrictions on transferring funds between these budget categories.
Signs of the financial pressure have also emerged during hearings in Congress.
Susan Collins, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said during a hearing on July 21 that she had been informed that some branches of the US armed forces were facing short-term funding challenges. A congressional staff member said the Navy was among the branches referred to by Collins.
The US Navy, however, denied that its operations and maintenance funds had been exhausted. A Navy spokesperson said the Department of the Navy was actively managing its resources to ensure personnel commitments were met on schedule while working with Congress to secure the resources required to maintain operations, personnel and military readiness throughout the fiscal year.
Financial Crisis Kept Out of the Public Eye
The Guardian reported that the liquidity shortage within the US Navy is widely known internally, although it has not been discussed publicly in detail.
Todd Harrison, a defense analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, told the newspaper that the situation was the result of a deliberate decision by civilian leaders at the Pentagon, motivated partly by political considerations.
According to Harrison, Pentagon officials do not want the war to appear to have damaged future military readiness at a time when the conflict is gradually becoming a growing political burden.
Admiral Daryl Caudle, the US Navy’s Chief of Naval Operations, had warned Congress in mid-May that the financial pressure would become apparent from July onward. He pointed out that the Navy’s fiscal year 2026 budget had not included the costs associated with the war against Iran.
Caudle also warned that he might have to make decisions concerning the organization and deployment of forces that could affect routine training and operations in order to secure the financial resources necessary to sustain the war effort.
Congressional Authorization for the War Against Iran
The Guardian report also linked the difficulties in financing the conflict to the absence of congressional authorization for the use of military force against Iran.
Ullman compared the current situation with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for which congressional authorizations made it easier for the US government to obtain funding.
He questioned whether Congress should be responsible for financing a war that it had not authorized.
Trump’s Golden Fleet Ambitions Amid a Budget Crisis
The financial crisis comes as Trump pursues ambitious plans to expand the US Navy. His administration has promoted the concept of a «Golden Fleet» and proposed the construction of massive Trump-class warships.
According to The Guardian, these vessels are intended to become the largest warships in US history.
The newspaper also reported that Trump has intervened in details of aircraft carrier design, directing the Navy to consider steam and hydraulic systems for launching aircraft instead of electromagnetic launch systems.
Nevertheless, according to the report, the Navy’s most immediate challenge is financing a war with no clear prospect of ending.
The continued military operations have placed heavy pressure on the Navy’s financial resources, weapons stocks and fleet.
A former US military officer who now works for a Navy contractor and is familiar with the scale of the budget shortfall described the situation as extremely serious.
He said the US Navy had consumed its weapons, worn down its ships and exhausted its money.
According to The Guardian, the assessment illustrates the scale of the pressure that the war against Iran has placed on the US Navy and raises questions about the ability of the American military to sustain prolonged military operations while simultaneously pursuing ambitious plans for the expansion of its fleet.
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