US military leaders have acknowledged that a new phase of the war against Iran could drive American interceptor missile stocks down to critically low levels, The New York Times reported.

During discussions of the plan, General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that restarting large-scale combat operations against Iran was possible but would dangerously deplete interceptor inventories.

Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, also said that if the White House chose not to resume hostilities, strikes in the Strait of Hormuz area should be halted entirely because they had already reached the limit of their operational effectiveness.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies previously estimated that before the war with Iran, the United States had about 2,330 missiles for Patriot systems and roughly 360 interceptors for THAAD batteries. Nearly half of each stockpile was used during the conflict.

Analysts noted that these weapons are extremely expensive and produced in relatively limited quantities. A single Patriot interceptor costs nearly $4 million. Rebuilding inventories to prewar levels would take the United States 42 months, not including the impact of any new strikes.