Pentagon to Hold Emergency Meeting After Trump's Anger Over Weapons Supply

The United States Department of Defense (Pentagon) will hold an emergency meeting on Friday evening local time to discuss weapons shortages following an angry telephone call from US President Donald Trump to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg.

NBC reported on Thursday, citing sources, that the meeting would be attended by senior military officials as well as officials responsible for defence equipment procurement.

Earlier, The Washington Post reported, citing its sources, that Trump had demanded an explanation from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth regarding missile shortages during a cabinet meeting at Camp David earlier in the week.

However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later denied the report, calling it untrue.

The report also said Hegseth blamed Feinberg for failing to provide information on the state of weapons stockpiles.

On 24 June, the White House submitted a request to Congress for additional funding of 87.6 billion US dollars, including 67.15 billion US dollars for the Pentagon.

Most of the funds are allocated to cover the costs of US military operations related to Iran.

In late July, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated that the United States had used more than 1,500 missiles for Patriot air defence systems and around 200 interceptor missiles for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) air defence systems.

According to CSIS, this has left the United States facing a significant missile shortage.