US has 2 months of rare earths left to replenish weapons amid Iran war: Report 

The United States has only two months’ worth of rare earth elements critically important in the manufacturing of modern weaponry amid its joint aggression with the Israeli regime on Iran, a report says. 

The Oil Price, citing data from South China Morning Post and Reuters, reported that the US involvement in the aggression against Iran, which began on February 28, has already consumed billions of dollars’ worth of missiles and precision-guided weapons, leaving Washington with low inventories of rare earth and other key materials embedded in advanced military systems.

“And it’s the 11th hour for American defense and the entire defense industry, even if it wasn’t in the middle of a war with Iran,” said the report.

The report said the US is deeply dependent on China for the supply of rare earths, leaving Beijing with some fresh leverage over Washington, with roughly three weeks until President Donald Trump’s expected visit to China.

The South China Morning Post has said in an earlier report that the heavy reliance could mean that it is ultimately China that could dictate how long US strikes on Iran can continue.

Rare earth elements are key to manufacturing missile guidance and drone propulsion to radar systems and fighter aircraft electronics.

Those weapons have been critical to US-Israeli air aggression against Iran as it has solely relied on air strikes hitting Iranian targets.

Reports have indicated that the aggression cost more than $10 billion in its first week, as both the US and Israel have been grappling with barrages of missiles and drones fired by Iran at their targets, prompting heavy use of their costly air defense systems.

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