The Pentagon is weighing whether to redirect weapons originally meant for Ukraine to the Middle East, as the war in Iran strains supplies of some of the US military's most critical munitions, the Washington Post reported Thursday, citing three people familiar with the matter.
The weapons that could be redirected include air defense interceptor missiles purchased through a NATO initiative launched last year, under which partner countries buy US arms for Kyiv, the report said.
The consideration comes as US operations in the region intensify. Admiral Brad Cooper, the Central Command chief leading US forces in the Middle East, on Wednesday said the US had hit over 10,000 targets inside Iran and was on track to limit Iran's ability to project power outside its borders.
A Pentagon spokesperson told the newspaper that the Defense Department would "ensure that US forces and those of our allies and partners have what they need to fight and win."
In response to a query about the report, a NATO official said members of the alliance and its partners continue to contribute to its Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) program that funds the supply of US arms for Kyiv.
"Equipment is continuously flowing into Ukraine," the official added. "The amount pledged to PURL so far is of several billion US dollars and we expect more contributions to follow."
The Pentagon and the US State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
