Israeli Intelligence Leak Claims U.S. Limited to 4–5 Day Strike Window on Iran
An Israeli intelligence leak claiming the U.S. can only sustain a 5-day air campaign against Iran has sparked a fierce debate. While the report cites munitions shortages, defense analysts point to a massive, ongoing U.S. military airlift of F-22s and C-17s as evidence that Washington is prepared for a far more prolonged confrontation.
An anonymous Israeli intelligence official has told the Financial Times that the United States would only be able to sustain intensive airstrikes on Iran for four to five days, or roughly one week at a lower intensity, even after the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group later this week.
The assessment, widely reported in Israeli media including Israel National News (Arutz Sheva) within the last hour, cites forward-deployed U.S. munitions stocks in the Middle East as the limiting factor. “Even with the imminent arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford later this week, the U.S. has the military capacity to carry out intensive airstrikes for only four to five days, or for one week in the case of less intensive attacks,” the Israeli source told the FT.
Multiple defense analysts and U.S. military watchers immediately pushed back, pointing out that the assessment ignores the massive ongoing U.S. resupply operation currently underway:
These movements are precisely to build and sustain stocks for prolonged operations — the opposite of a genuine “5-day limit.”
No U.S. official has confirmed any such limitation. Pentagon sources and retired generals speaking today described U.S. capabilities as prepared for sustained, weeks-long operations if ordered.