August 20, 2025
The documents, which were prepared through mid-May, indicate that the funds are meant for restocking interceptor missiles as well as other tasks including radar upkeep, refurbishing vessels, and transporting munitions.
Every paragraph listing the items is tagged as an “emergency budget request.”
The spending is described as necessary to make up for costs linked to the US army’s responses to the “situation in Israel,” as well as operations “executed at the request of or in coordination with Israel for the defense of Israeli territory, personnel or assets during attacks by Iran [or its allies].”
The request centers on missile interceptors fired since October 2023, including around $1 billion for RTX’s SM-3 systems, which US Navy destroyers used in April 2024 against Iranian strikes.
Another $204 million is allocated for Lockheed Martin’s THAAD interceptors.
The budget papers highlight growing costs for the US military presence in West Asia and rising concerns in Washington over the ability to replenish supplies while continuing to arm Israel.
Since October 2023, Washington has burned through a significant number of interceptors in operations to defend Israel and confront Yemeni attacks in the Red Sea, according to a report by Responsible Statecraft.
In October 2023, the US had approximately 9,100 SM‑2, 400 SM‑3, and 1,500 SM‑6 interceptor missiles in stockpile.
Budget documents cited by The War Zone show that roughly 25 percent of all THAAD interceptors (over 150) funded to date were used to intercept Iranian missiles in June 2025.Israel travel guide
An October 2024 Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report noted that the number of inceptors deployed since October 2023 cost Washington $1.8 billion.
This could easily have been doubled by the end of June 2025, Responsible Statecraft noted.
In the latest US campaign against Yemen alone, which lasted from March until May, Washington burned through around $1 billion in munitions.
At the height of the June war between Iran and Israel, WSJ reported that Israel was “running low” on interceptors. At the time, the source cited in the report said there was concern that “about the US burning through interceptors as well.”
Wednesday’s Bloomberg report comes as Israel has recently initiated plans to accelerate development of its own missile defense systems.
This has coincided with concerns over a potential resumption of war between Israel and Iran, which fired around 500 ballistic missiles at Israeli targets between 13 June and 24 June.
An Iranian military official said on 17 August that Tehran continues to consider that it is in a state of war, and that a confrontation with Israel could erupt “at any moment.”
The official added that Tehran should “adopt an offensive strategy,” while signaling potential pre-emptive action from the Islamic Republic.
Recent reports have indicated Iran is receiving Chinese help to restock and rebuild its arsenal of missiles in preparation for a potential re-escalation.
An analysis written by Trita Parsi for Foreign Policy, released on 11 August, suggested a potential resumption of the Israel–Iran war. Parsi is the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and the founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council.
“Israel is likely to launch another war with Iran before December – perhaps even as early as late August. Iran is expecting and preparing for the attack. It played the long game in the first war, pacing its missile attacks as it anticipated a protracted conflict. In the next round, however, Iran is likely to strike decisively from the outset, aiming to dispel any notion that it can be subdued under Israeli military dominance,” he said, warning that the next battle would “be far bloodier than the first.”
Israel has also recently begun
accelerating development of missile defense systems, as concerns grow of a
potential re-escalation with Iran
The Pentagon is seeking over $3.5
billion to replenish weapons and defense systems used to protect Israel,
Bloomberg reported on 19 August – citing budget documents.
The documents, which were prepared through mid-May, indicate that the funds are meant for restocking interceptor missiles as well as other tasks including radar upkeep, refurbishing vessels, and transporting munitions.
Every paragraph listing the items is tagged as an “emergency budget request.”
The spending is described as necessary to make up for costs linked to the US army’s responses to the “situation in Israel,” as well as operations “executed at the request of or in coordination with Israel for the defense of Israeli territory, personnel or assets during attacks by Iran [or its allies].”
The request centers on missile interceptors fired since October 2023, including around $1 billion for RTX’s SM-3 systems, which US Navy destroyers used in April 2024 against Iranian strikes.
Another $204 million is allocated for Lockheed Martin’s THAAD interceptors.
The budget papers highlight growing costs for the US military presence in West Asia and rising concerns in Washington over the ability to replenish supplies while continuing to arm Israel.
Since October 2023, Washington has burned through a significant number of interceptors in operations to defend Israel and confront Yemeni attacks in the Red Sea, according to a report by Responsible Statecraft.
In October 2023, the US had approximately 9,100 SM‑2, 400 SM‑3, and 1,500 SM‑6 interceptor missiles in stockpile.
Budget documents cited by The War Zone show that roughly 25 percent of all THAAD interceptors (over 150) funded to date were used to intercept Iranian missiles in June 2025.Israel travel guide
An October 2024 Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report noted that the number of inceptors deployed since October 2023 cost Washington $1.8 billion.
This could easily have been doubled by the end of June 2025, Responsible Statecraft noted.
In the latest US campaign against Yemen alone, which lasted from March until May, Washington burned through around $1 billion in munitions.
At the height of the June war between Iran and Israel, WSJ reported that Israel was “running low” on interceptors. At the time, the source cited in the report said there was concern that “about the US burning through interceptors as well.”
Wednesday’s Bloomberg report comes as Israel has recently initiated plans to accelerate development of its own missile defense systems.
This has coincided with concerns over a potential resumption of war between Israel and Iran, which fired around 500 ballistic missiles at Israeli targets between 13 June and 24 June.
An Iranian military official said on 17 August that Tehran continues to consider that it is in a state of war, and that a confrontation with Israel could erupt “at any moment.”
The official added that Tehran should “adopt an offensive strategy,” while signaling potential pre-emptive action from the Islamic Republic.
Recent reports have indicated Iran is receiving Chinese help to restock and rebuild its arsenal of missiles in preparation for a potential re-escalation.
An analysis written by Trita Parsi for Foreign Policy, released on 11 August, suggested a potential resumption of the Israel–Iran war. Parsi is the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and the founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council.
“Israel is likely to launch another war with Iran before December – perhaps even as early as late August. Iran is expecting and preparing for the attack. It played the long game in the first war, pacing its missile attacks as it anticipated a protracted conflict. In the next round, however, Iran is likely to strike decisively from the outset, aiming to dispel any notion that it can be subdued under Israeli military dominance,” he said, warning that the next battle would “be far bloodier than the first.”
Around 18 resistance fighters
stormed a newly established site in Khan Yunis, inflicting casualties on
Israeli troops while attempting to take captives
Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam
Brigades, launched a large-scale raid into an Israeli military encampment in
Gaza’s southern city of Khan Yunis on 20 August, resulting in casualties.An updated Israeli army assessment says 18 Palestinian resistance fighters participated in the attack. According to the assessment, they emerged from a tunnel with RPGs and machine guns, opening fire at troops. The army probe also found that some of the fighters managed to breach the walls of the site.
The Israeli army said 10 Hamas fighters were killed, while acknowledging the injury of three soldiers, one seriously. The army said the Qassam militants were attempting to take more captives. Tel Aviv says it is working to capture the remaining fighters involved in the attack, estimated at around eight.
The Qassam Brigades announced the operation in a statement via its media channel on Telegram. “This morning, Al-Qassam fighters managed to raid a newly established enemy site southeast of Khan Yunis city in the southern Gaza Strip with a Qassam force consisting of an infantry battalion. The Al-Qassam fighters stormed the site and targeted a number of Merkava 4 guard tanks with several incendiary devices, commando work devices, and Yasin-105 shells,” it said.
“The fighters also targeted several houses where occupation soldiers were entrenched, hitting them with six shells against fortifications and personnel and machine gun fire. A number of fighters stormed the houses and eliminated several occupation soldiers inside at point-blank range using light weapons and hand grenades. The Qassam fighters also managed to snipe the commander of a Merkava 4 tank, fatally wounding him,” it added.
“The operation site was shelled with mortar shells to secure the fighters' withdrawal from the location. Upon the arrival of the rescue force, one of the martyrs detonated himself among the soldiers, causing casualties among them. The attack continued for several hours, and our mujahideen observed the landing of evacuation helicopters,” the Qassam Brigades went on to say.
Israeli media referred to it as a “rare” attack that managed to “penetrate the defenses” of the Nahshon Battalion of the army’s Kfir Brigade.
The Qassam Brigades and other resistance factions in Gaza remain active and continue to confront troops across the strip. Several dozen Israeli soldiers have been killed in the past few months due to a recent surge in resistance operations.
Wednesday’s Qassam raid comes as the Israeli army is preparing for its upcoming assault to seize and occupy Gaza City.
Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, approved on 20 August the army’s plans for the occupation of Gaza City. The operation has been dubbed Gideon’s Chariots II – meant as a follow-up to Gideon’s Chariots, which was launched in May.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians will be forcibly displaced as part of the operation.
The army says 130,000 Israeli reserve soldiers will be called up for the assault on Gaza City. The reserve service of already active soldiers will be extended by about a month. Recruitment of about 60,000 reservists is set to start on 20 August.
“Once the operation is completed, Gaza will change its face and will no longer look as it did in the past,” Katz said.
As the genocide in Gaza
approaches its second anniversary, Israel's image among its closest allies
continues to degrade
Over half of US citizens say that
all UN member states should recognize Palestinian statehood, according to a
poll by Reuters/Ipsos released on 20 August.The poll found that 58 percent of US citizens believe all UN member states should recognize Palestine as a nation, while 33 percent opposed the idea, and nine percent did not answer.
Reuters/Ipsos said the six-day survey, which closed on Monday, followed announcements by Canada, Britain, and France that they intend to formally recognize Palestine.
The same poll found that 65 percent of respondents believe the US should take action in Gaza to aid the people being subject to starvation by Israel, while 28 percent disagreed.
The survey also noted that 41 percent of those who opposed US intervention were Republicans aligned with US President Donald Trump, who, together with many in his party, have pushed an “America First” approach favoring cuts to international food and medical aid.
Regarding Israel’s military actions, the poll reported that 59 percent of respondents describe Israel’s response in Gaza as excessive, compared with 33 percent who disagree, up from the previous year’s numbers, showing 53 percent calling it excessive and 42 percent disagreeing.
These results highlight a sharp decline in Israel’s standing among US citizens, a trend reflected across several other major polls.
A Pew Research Center poll in April 2025 found that 53 percent now view Israel unfavorably, up from 42 percent in March 2022.
A Gallup poll in July reported that only 32 percent support Israel’s military action in Gaza, while 60 percent disapprove.
A Brookings survey showed that 45 percent of voters believe Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, compared with 31 percent who disagreed.
The findings across polls attribute a number of factors to this shift in perception, including the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza, the prolonged nature of Israel’s assault, and generational divides that predate social media but have been amplified by it.
Research shows pro-Palestinian content dominates social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X, amplifying earlier survey trends and exposing younger generations to uncensored images of Gaza’s destruction and starvation, making them increasingly unwilling to accept Washington’s continued backing of Israel’s war.
Tehran formally suspended
cooperation with the agency last month over its failure to properly condemn
Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas
Araghchi said on 20 August that the Islamic Republic cannot “completely end”
its dealings with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), several weeks
after Tehran formally suspended cooperation with the watchdog over the Israeli
war in June.In an interview with IRNA, Araghchi said that any return of IAEA inspectors to Iranian nuclear sites would depend on a decision by the country’s Supreme National Security Council.
“We cannot completely end cooperation with the agency,” he said, adding that the replacement of “fuel at the Bushehr nuclear power plant” must take place in the coming weeks and will require the “presence of inspectors” from the agency.
“The return of inspectors will be possible based on the parliament's law, that is, with the approval of the Supreme National Security Council,” Araghchi stressed.
Araghchi also commented on the possibility of a resumption of nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
“In my opinion, we have not yet reached the point of maturity where effective negotiations with the US can take place,” the minister said.
Araghchi’s comments come two days after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei confirmed another round of talks with the IAEA would take place “in the coming days.”
An IAEA official visited Iran earlier this month and held talks with Iranian officials, marking the first such encounter since Tehran suspended cooperation with the watchdog.
Israel started its war on Iran on 13 June amid nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington. The US joined the war on 23 June with a bunker-buster attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.
The Israeli war was launched just a day after the IAEA board passed a resolution accusing Tehran of non-compliance with its nuclear obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement. The resolution was based on an IAEA report in late May, which claimed that Iran carried out secret nuclear activities with material not declared to the UN nuclear watchdog at three locations decades ago.
Iran has barred IAEA chief Rafael Grossi from entering the country and has signaled potential legal action against him.
The Iranian government had previously accused the agency of passing along sensitive information obtained from inspections over to Israel. It also says the agency paved the way for Israel’s war with its anti-Iran report, and accuses it of failing to properly condemn the attack on nuclear sites.
In early July, Tehran formally suspended cooperation with the IAEA. Days later, an IAEA inspection team left the Islamic Republic.
Araghchi’s comments also coincide with concerns over a potential resumption of war between Israel and Iran.
An Iranian military official said on 17 August that Tehran continues to consider that it is in a state of war, and that a confrontation with Israel could erupt “at any moment.”
The official added that Tehran should “adopt an offensive strategy,” while signaling potential pre-emptive action from the Islamic Republic.
Recent reports have indicated Iran is receiving Chinese help to restock and rebuild its arsenal of missiles in preparation for a potential re-escalation.
Israel is also accelerating development of missile defenses, and has publicly vowed to forcefully prevent Iran from moving forward on its nuclear program.
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