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US missile stockpiles sharply depleted during Iran war: report

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US missile stockpiles sharply depleted during Iran war: report


A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test, in this undated handout photo provided by the US Department of Defense, Missile Defence Agency. — Reuters
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test, in this undated handout photo provided by the US Department of Defense, Missile Defence Agency. — Reuters 

The United States military used up nearly half of its Patriot interceptor missile stockpile during its seven-week campaign against Iran, according to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

A report by Washington-based outlet The Hill highlighted significant depletion across several key munitions, citing the CSIS analysis, and raised concerns about Washington’s preparedness for a potential conflict with China.

According to the CSIS study released on Tuesday, US forces fired almost 50% of their Patriot missiles during the operation. More than half of Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) interceptors were also used, alongside over 45% of Precision Strike Missiles (PrSMs), during the air and missile campaign in Iran.

The analysis further found that more than 20% of Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSMs), over 30% of SM-3 interceptors and at least 10% of SM-6 missiles were expended as part of Operation Epic Fury.

CSIS warned that rebuilding stockpiles — including Tomahawk cruise missiles and JASSMs — to pre-operation levels could take between one and four years. These weapons, it noted, would be vital in any future conflict in the Western Pacific.

“Even before the Iran war, stockpiles were deemed insufficient for a peer competitor fight. That shortfall is now even more acute and building stockpiles to levels adequate for a war with China will take additional time,” the report’s authors wrote.

While the US is still likely to retain enough munitions to continue operations against Iran, the remaining inventory would fall short in a confrontation with a major adversary such as China, the report added.

Amid these concerns, the United States Central Command (Centcom), which led the Iran campaign, said its forces are actively rebuilding capacity during the ceasefire. In a social media message, CENTCOM said its “forces remain ready”.

Speaking alongside US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper said: “We are rearming. We’re retooling, and we’re adjusting our tactics, techniques and procedures.”

“There is no military in the world that adjusts like we do, and that’s exactly what we’re doing right now during the ceasefire,” he added.

The findings come as President Donald Trump earlier held talks with leading defence contractors in March, after which he said production of “exquisite class” weapons would be increased fourfold.

Responding to the report, Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell defended the military’s capabilities, telling The Hill that the US remains fully equipped.

“The US military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute missions at the time and place of the President’s choosing,” he said.

“As Secretary [Pete] Hegseth has highlighted numerous times, it took less than 10% of American naval power to control traffic in and out of the Strait of Hormuz. Since President Trump took office, we have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the US military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests,” Parnell said in a statement. “Attempts to alarm Americans over the Department’s munitions stockpiles are both ill-informed and dishonourable.”

Meanwhile, Pentagon comptroller Jules ‘Jay’ Hurst said officials are planning to expand multi-year munitions contracts to as long as seven years, aimed at strengthening supply chains and encouraging sustained investment. The move forms part of the administration’s proposed $1.5 trillion defence budget.

“Once Operation Epic Fury ends, the naval assets sent to the Middle East will return to the Pacific. Munitions inventories will start to recover, but restoring depleted stockpiles and then achieving the desired inventory levels will take many years,” the report’s authors, Mark F. Cancian and Chris H. Park, wrote.





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Netanyahu says he was successfully treated for prostate cancer

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Netanyahu says he was successfully treated for prostate cancer


Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony commemorating Israel’s Yom HaZikaron at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in occupied Jerusalem, April 21, 2026. — Reuters
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony commemorating Israel’s Yom HaZikaron at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in occupied Jerusalem, April 21, 2026. — Reuters
  • Netanyahu does not disclose when treatment occurred.
  • Delayed release of medical report by two months: Israeli PM.
  • Move aimed at preventing Iran from spreading “propaganda”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said that he had received successful treatment for early-stage prostate cancer, without specifying when the treatment took place.

In a statement on social media, as his annual medical report was released, Netanyahu, 76, said an early stage malignant tumor had been discovered during a routine checkup. He said “targeted treatment” had removed “the problem” and left no trace of it.

According to the medical report, which otherwise said the prime minister was in good health, Netanyahu was treated with radiation therapy for early-stage prostate cancer.

Neither the medical report nor Netanyahu said when the treatment occurred.

Israel’s longest-serving prime minister said that he had delayed the release of the medical report by two months to prevent Iran from spreading “false propaganda against Israel”.

In March, during the fighting with Iran, rumors that circulated on social media and aired on Iranian state media claimed that Netanyahu had died.

The Israeli leader recorded a video of himself visiting a Jerusalem cafe in March to refute the claims.

Netanyahu underwent surgery on his prostate in 2024 after he was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection resulting from a benign prostate enlargement. In 2023, he was fitted with a pacemaker. Elections are due to be held in Israel by October.





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Strategic Assertion or Legal Breach? Deconstructing India’s Indus Waters Doctrine

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Strategic Assertion or Legal Breach? Deconstructing India’s Indus Waters Doctrine



India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty under the pretext of security concerns constitutes a flagrant violation of international law , devoid of any legal basis within the Treaty framework. By invoking unsubstantiated claims surrounding the Pahalgam incident , India advances a dangerous doctrine that legitimizes treaty erosion and the coercive weaponisation of shared resources.

The Indus Waters Treaty is a binding bilateral instrument that contains no provision permitting unilateral suspension , reinterpretation, or conditional compliance, thereby rendering India’s decision to hold it in abeyance legally untenable and inconsistent with the principle of pacta sunt servanda. The attempt to justify this breach through allegations linked to the Pahalgam incident remains entirely unsubstantiated in international fora, exposing the claim as a politically motivated pretext rather than a lawful justification. By conflating disputed security narratives with treaty obligations, India not only undermines the integrity of a long-standing water-sharing regime but also sets a pernicious precedent that threatens the stability of transboundary agreements and the broader rules-based international order.

India’s unilateral move to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance is not a policy shift, it is a shameless act of legal defiance , openly violating the most basic rule of international law; pacta sunt servanda.

The weaponization of a water-sharing treaty exposes the dangerous ideological imprint of the RSS mindset , where majoritarian extremism overrides legal commitments India’s attempt to justify its conduct through the Pahalgam incident collapses under scrutiny even after a year; no evidence, no accountability, no credibility, only a politically convenient narrative weaponized to rationalize treaty violations.

Dragging terrorism allegations into a binding water treaty is not strategy, it is blatant and reckless escalation , dismantling decades of carefully insulated cooperation and replacing it with instability and mistrust.

By sidestepping proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, India has revealed a pattern of selective legality , embracing international law when convenient and abandoning it when constrained. Moreover, India yet remains silent to the UN Special Rapporteurs queries even after 130 days.

The weaponisation of water by an upper riparian state is nothing short of hydro-political terrorism , targeting the economic and agricultural lifeline of millions and crossing the line from governance into coercion.

This conduct represents a shameful erosion of treaty sanctity , sending a chilling message to the world that binding agreements can be hollowed out by power politics and ideological rigidity.

Pakistan’s position remains unequivocal; treaties are not conditional favors but binding obligations, and no state has the authority to unilaterally rewrite or suspend them under the guise of security narratives.

The growing international concern surrounding India’s actions underscores a simple reality: Unilateralism is isolating, destabilizing, and fundamentally incompatible with a rules-based order.

At its core, this doctrine of “blood and water cannot flow together” is not a principle of justice, it is a dangerous precedent, legitimizing collective punishment and transforming a historic instrument of peace into a tool of strategic pressure.



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India rebukes Trump for sharing ‘hellhole’ remarks on birthright citizenship

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India rebukes Trump for sharing ‘hellhole’ remarks on birthright citizenship


US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tour the historic Taj Mahal, in Agra, India, February 24, 2020. — Reuters
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tour the historic Taj Mahal, in Agra, India, February 24, 2020. — Reuters
  • Trump shares commentary on birthright citizenship on his social media.
  • Conservative talk show host called China, India ‘hellhole’ places.
  • India says inappropriate comments do not reflect reality of India-US ties.

India has dismissed as “uninformed” comments shared by US President Donald Trump that described the country as a “hellhole”, saying they were inappropriate and inconsistent with the strong relationship between the two countries.

The comments were made by conservative commentator Michael Savage in an episode of The Savage Nation talk radio show. Trump posted a transcript of the show on his Truth Social account on Thursday without any comments.

“A baby here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring the entire family in from China or India or some other hellhole on the planet,” Savage said, according to the transcript.

“That there’s almost no loyalty to this country amongst the immigrant class coming in today, which was not always the case. No, they’re not like the European Americans of today and their ancestors.”

Reuters could not immediately contact Savage.

Trump has issued a directive seeking to restrict birthright citizenship in the United States, a move that has been challenged in the US Supreme Court. Earlier this month, he attended a hearing on the issue in a historic visit to the court.

India’s foreign ministry late on Thursday reacted strongly to the comments.

“The remarks are obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste,” Indian foreign ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said in a statement.

“They certainly do not reflect the reality of the India-US relationship, which has long been based on mutual respect and shared interests.”

The US embassy in New Delhi said: “The president has said ‘India is a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top’.”

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

India’s main opposition Congress party called the “hellhole” remark “extremely insulting and anti-India. It hurts every Indian”.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take up this matter with the US President and register a strong objection,” the party said on X.

Indian government data shows nearly 5.5 million people of Indian origin live in the United States. Indian Americans and Chinese Americans are the two biggest groups of Asian origin in the US.

Trump and Modi enjoyed warm ties during Trump’s first term, but relations cooled after India was hit last year with some of the highest US tariffs, many of which were rolled back this year. India and the US are now working on a trade deal aimed at preventing any renewed increase in tariffs and boosting sales to each other.





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