National Security

The Pentagon May Not Be Telling Trump the Full Picture About the War

Vice President Vance is worried that the U.S. is running low on weapons.

First published in The Atlantic on April 27, 2026.

by Missy Ryan, Vivian Salama, Michael Scherer and Nancy A. Youssef, The Atlantic

April 30, 2026 | reading time: 8 Min.

In closed-door meetings, J. D. Vance has repeatedly questioned the Defense Department’s depiction of the war in Iran and whether the Pentagon has understated what appears to be the drastic depletion of U.S. missile stockpiles.