Sustained Iran Missile Attacks Add Pressure on US to Defend Gulf

March 30, 2026, 12:34 PM UTC

After a weekend with some of the heaviest Iranian ballistic missile attacks on Gulf targets since the war began, increasingly effective strikes have consumed at least 2,400 interceptors — a number approaching those countries’ known prewar stockpiles.

Despite unrelenting US and Israeli airstrikes, Iran has launched almost 1,200 ballistic missiles and 4,000 rudimentary Shahed cruise missiles at Gulf countries since the war began on Feb. 28, according to those countries’ official reports, which are not comprehensive.

“Without active US support, most countries would have nothing left with which to defend themselves against Iranian missiles,” said Kelly Grieco, a ...

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