Iran regime running low on missiles with "widespread desertions"

Iranian missile strikes have dropped to their "lowest number" yet over the past 24 hours, as Operation Epic Fury sparks "widespread desertions" among Tehran's fighting force, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday morning.

"The last 24 hours saw the lowest number of enemy missiles and drones fired by Iran," Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon. "Our strikes are damaging the morale of the Iranian military, leading to widespread desertions, key personnel shortages, and causing frustrations amongst senior leaders."

"They will go underground, but we will find them," Hegseth said of the Islamic Republic’s remaining leadership. "We recently destroyed another one of their command bunkers. Leaders forced to flee, no water, no power, no oxygen, no command and control. Their faith in their caves diminishing."

The chaos and confusion inside the regime has allowed U.S. forces to penetrate deeper into Iran, hitting missile systems and other targets based on real-time intelligence. The United States conducted some 200 dynamic strikes through Monday evening, with fighter pilots being fed updated targeting information mid-air. These types of attacks have allowed the U.S. military to take out Iran’s mobile missile launchers and troop formations while they move into place.

"A dynamic target is one that changes while you're in the air because of improved intelligence, 200 dynamic strikes alone, in addition to the pre-planned targets," Hegseth said, confirming that among the targets was an ammunition depot inside Iran’s Esfahan nuclear complex. Trump posted a video of the strike Monday evening on Truth Social, showing 2,000 pound bunker busters hammering the military site.

"The upcoming days will be decisive," Hegseth said. "Iran knows that, and there's almost nothing they can militarily do about it. Yes, they will still shoot some missiles, but we will shoot them down."

Hegseth said that Iran’s remaining leadership would be wise to strike a deal with Trump while the offer remains on the table.

"The new Iranian regime should know that by now this new regime, because regime change has occurred, should be wiser than the last," he said. "President Trump will make a deal, he is willing, and the terms of the deal are known to them. If Iran is not willing, then the United States War Department will continue with even more intensity."

The U.S. military has struck more than 11,000 targets over the past 30 days and is now conducting the first "overland missions" with B-52 bomber planes, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, who spoke alongside Hegseth. These missions have allowed U.S. troops "to get on top of the enemy," pressuring regime assets as they move across the battlefield.

Attack helicopters have also joined the fight, bringing "close air support assets into the naval domain," Caine said. These operations have helped sink more than 150 Iranian ships, including all of the Islamic Republic’s advanced Jamaran class frigates, which are designed to destroy submarines from long distances.

"We continue to prosecute our campaign against their defense industrial base at scale," Caine said. "This includes factories, warehouses, nuclear weapons, research and development labs, and the associated infrastructure required for Iran to reconstitute its combat capability."

Hegseth said in the press conference that the United States remains focused on opening the Strait of Hormuz but noted that the issue "is not just the United States of America’s problem set."Trump, in a Tuesday morning Truth Social post, said that Western allies like the United Kingdom need to "build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT. You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!"

Trump has also recently floated the possibility of seizing Iran’s main oil hub, Kharg Island, and Hegseth indicated those plans could be put into action soon.

"Our adversary right now thinks there are 15 different ways we could come at them with boots on the ground," Hegseth said. "And guess what: There are."

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Trump thinking about leaving NATO: sees it as "paper tiger"

Signaling a seismic shift in the post-World War II global order, President Donald Trump said he is “strongly considering” withdrawing the United States from NATO, delivering one of his clearest warnings that Washington may no longer be willing to underwrite European security without reciprocal support. If this comes to pass, this will render NATO impotent.

Delivered in a characteristically blunt interview with The Telegraph, Trump argued the alliance has become a “one-way street,” with the United States expected to defend Europe while allies decline to support American operations.

The catalyst for this potential divorce is the refusal of European allies to support the U.S.-led effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for 20 percent of the world’s oil, which has been temporarily shuttered by Tehran.

Asked whether he would reconsider U.S. membership after the war with Iran is over, Trump did not hedge.

“Oh yes, I would say beyond reconsideration,” he said. “I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.”

Trump pointed directly to European reluctance to support efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for 20 percent of the world’s oil that has been shuttered by Iran, as evidence that the alliance is failing. He noted that while the United States has “automatically” stood by Europe, including in non-member states like Ukraine, the favor has not been returned.

“They weren’t there for us,” Trump remarked, specifically lambasting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for a lack of naval support.

Senior administration officials are now echoing the president’s frustration.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that continued U.S. participation in NATO cannot be taken for granted if allies expect protection while limiting American military flexibility.

“If NATO is just about us defending Europe if they’re attacked but then denying us basing rights when we need them, that’s not a very good arrangement,” Rubio said.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth went further, arguing the war has exposed a fundamental imbalance.

“You don’t have much of an alliance if you have countries that are not willing to stand with you when you need them,” Hegseth stated.

The statements point to a hardening of the administration’s NATO stance. Sources suggest the White House is eyeing a model that would block delinquent or uncooperative members from decision-making and is revisiting plans to withdraw troops from Germany.

As the U.S. and Israel continue air strikes against Iran’s nuclear program, the message from Washington is clear: the era of the American “blank check” for European security is over. If NATO will not serve as a platform for mutual security, President Trump appears ready to walk away from the table entirely.

This move seems to be a long time coming. The U.S. has always carried most of the financial burden for NATO, and even when Trump demanded they pay their share, the treaty nations always got a bargain price for membership compared to the United States.

According to Grok: 

In absolute dollar terms (total defense spending, which funds NATO's real strength): The United States dominates, spending an estimated $980 billion in 2025 — about 62% of all NATO defense spending combined (total NATO ~$1.59 trillion).

Next are Germany ($94 billion) and the UK ($91 billion). All other members are far behind.

I suspect NATO members are quivering in their boots when considering the global implications.

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