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Defiant Tehran digs in over Trump's latest threat to attack over Strait

As US President Donald Trump issues his latest threat to attack if no deal is settled with Iran, Tehran refuses to give in amid growing fears of a wider conflict in the region

[US airstrike on military vehicle]

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US airstrike on military vehicle(Image: CENTCOM)

Iran has delivered a chilling warning to Washington, ordering the end of the US naval blockade or vessels and forces will face serious risks and casualties. The threat was made after US President Donald Trump issued his own ultimatum, telling the Tehran regime it had one last chance to agree to end the war.

Senior Tehran military adviser Mohsen Rezaei issued the warning after US reports emerged suggesting US forces had almost run out of long-range weapons. Over five months of warfare, it is believed the US has hit more than 13,000 targets across Iran. Such large-scale attacks means it has depleted its stocks of large amounts of weaponry and explosives.

The reports claim the US military has exhausted its stock of surface-to-surface weapons, called Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM). Missiles such as ATACMS and PrSM are essential for stand-off attacks, where troops can fire from sufficiently far away as to minimise the risk of counter-attack. There were also claims in the afternoon the US had struck a drone manufacturing site within Iran, in Shamsabad Industrial Town, in the south.

[Trump warns 'one last chance.']

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Trump warns 'one last chance.'(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Other reports suggest land-based weapons stocks have been replaced by re-purposing weapons from other US bases all over the world - reducing US firepower globally. One source told the Mirror: There is a trade-off in any conflict that militaries will work through their supplies of weapons and these have to be replenished.

Many of these missiles cost up to 1m each and this too can limit the length of time the US can be entrenched in a lengthy war that has already gone on for five months. Much of the bluster from President Trump may be the usual kind of claims from him about launching big attack, then backing down, but the truth is he may be being told the US has to re-arm. And you have to also remember that supplies of defensive weapons such as Patriot missiles are also running low in the Gulf States.

And this has had an effect on supplies to Ukraine which has none left and is under huge threat from Russia s ballistic attacks, as recently witnessed in Kyiv. But it has also emerged Trumps bellicose threats and references to a major attack on Iran at the weekend being pulled at the last minute may have been true. A massive boost of 80% in US military activity has been observed in the Middle East in the past two weeks, with planes, ships, weapons, ground defences being prepared.

[Thousands in Tehran mark Shia Muslim ceremony]

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Thousands in Tehran mark Shia Muslim ceremony(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

On Tuesday Qatars Foreign Ministry claimed efforts to resolve the US-Iran conflict are in very progressive stages, even suggesting a draft agreement is being circulated. But the Ministry also added that there are still no direct talks between Washington and Tehran despite repeated claims by Trump that there are negotiations. And Trump has also denied the reports that the US is running short of missiles.

Asked for comment on the stockpile shortage claims the White House recently issued a statement from Trump, saying the U.S. had far more munitions than anyone in the world and far more than we need. It added: Our defence companies are, at this moment, making more munitions than they have ever made before, in addition to expanding their plants and equipment at record levels.

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