The Independent
· collected 2026-09-15 · by Shweta Sharma and Alex Croft
The US military is facing a weapons shortage after dozens of aircraft have been destroyed in its war on Iran, the Pentagon has said, as the cost of the war hit $33.4 billion (£24.8bn).
asserted
cost → face → billion
In a report to Congress on Monday, the Defense Department’s inspector general noted the destruction of four F-15 fighter jets and as many as 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones, and damage to one F-35 jet and seven KC-135 tanker aircraft.
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general → note → jet
It also said that Iranian attacks had “damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan during the conflict”.
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attacks → say → conflict
Some $22.3bn of cost is down to expended munitions, the report said.
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report → expend → munitions
Between 28 February and 30 June, Operation Epic Fury has caused “strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply”.
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Fury → cause → resupply
It comes as President Donald Trump has said he is “open” to negotiations to end the war with Iran, but stressed the final decision rests with him.
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decision → come → him
US military rejects Iran's claim that mines blew up tanker
The US military has rejected an Iranian claim that a Panama-flagged oil tanker struck naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, saying the vessel was instead attacked by an Iranian drone.
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vessel → reject → drone
US Central Command said the El Gaia was struck by an Iranian missile last month, which rendered the tanker “inoperable”, before it was hit again by an Iranian drone over the weekend while it was in waters off Oman.
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it → say → Oman
The vessel is now being towed by a regional partner.
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vessel → tow → partner
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had claimed the tanker struck naval mines and caught fire in Hormuz.
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tanker → claim → Hormuz
Saudi crown prince to meet Egypt's leader
Egypt's president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is set to roll out the red carpet for Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, the Egyptian presidency said.
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presidency → meet → Tuesday
The meeting comes against the backdrop of intensified fighting between Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and Yemen's Saudi-backed government.
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meeting → come → rebels
The two leaders will hold a bilateral meeting to discuss the Houthi offensive and developments in Iran.
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leaders → hold → Iran
The Houthi rebels’ weeklong offensive has culminated in the capture of Yemen's Red Sea coast, cementing their hold on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, through which Saudi oil transits.
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oil → culminate → which
Earlier, Cairo rejected a proposal from the Houthis for direct talks to coordinate maritime traffic through the waterway and the Red Sea, according to Qatari media outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
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Cairo → reject → outlet
Trump: Countries must reimburse us for securing Strait of Hormuz
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Countries → reimburse → Hormuz
Donald Trump has demanded that the “Countries of the World” pay the US for its military action to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
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Countries → demand → Hormuz
"The Countries of the World, which have been no help to us whatsoever, should, and will, reimburse the United States of America when this SCAM Confligration is all over,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
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he → reimburse → Social
The US president was repeating his claim that Tehran “wants to make a deal, quickly and badly”.
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Tehran → repeat → deal
He added: "I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage - The concept of which we are open to."
Israeli strikes on southern Lebanese town kill 13 as fears of escalation mount - ICYMI
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fears → add → escalation
Israeli strikes on a southern Lebanese town killed at least 13 people including six children on Monday, Lebanon's health ministry said, in one of the deadliest days of Israeli bombardment in recent weeks.
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ministry → kill → weeks
Fears of a renewed Israeli military campaign are mounting in Lebanon after days of escalating strikes despite a June ceasefire that was meant to halt fighting between the Israeli military and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
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that → renew → military
A woman who said she was related to at least three of the dead said one attack hit a residential building as children were getting ready for school.
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children → say → school
The Israeli military said it struck people seen transferring weapons in the area of the town, Kfar Rumman.
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it → say → town
At the site, Reuters reporters saw children's schoolbooks strewn between chunks of concrete where the building once stood.
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building → see → concrete
Rescue workers with heavy machinery had worked throughout the morning to pull bodies out from underneath the rubble.
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workers → work → rubble
Eight-year-old Mustafa Farhat lost his grandparents and his mother in the strike, locals said.
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locals → lose → strike
Rescue workers were still searching for his father's body on Monday morning while the boy lay in the hospital being treated for his wounds, they added.
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they → search → wounds
EU condemns Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia
The EU commission president condemned the Houthi attack against Saudi Arabia on Monday.
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president → condemn → Monday
In comments on social media, Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc stands “in solidarity with our Gulf partners in the face of relentless attacks by Iran’s proxies”.
“We will continue working with our partners for safe, free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and for stability in the Middle East,” she said.
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she → say → East
Explained: What the escalating war between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis means for Trump in Iran
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have forced a lightning offensive to the Red Sea coast, assuming control over another vital waterway in the region and threatening to expand the frozen US-Israeli conflict with Iran to the east.
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rebels → explain → east
By securing a position overlooking the narrow Bab el-Mandeb strait, the Iran-aligned group has opened a second pressure point, further squeezing Saudi Arabia’s oil exports already diverted from the Strait of Hormuz.
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group → secure → Hormuz
The sudden land grab over the last week has been accompanied by an aerial campaign against military instalments in southern Saudi Arabia, shifting the balance of power after more than a decade at war.
The Independent looks at what the Houthi advance means for regional stability:
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advance → accompany → stability
US imposes fresh sanctions on Russia's VTB Bank over alleged Iran ties
The United States imposed new sanctions on Russia's VTB Bank on Monday, accusing the lender of helping Iran evade Western sanctions and warning that foreign institutions that continue doing business with Russia's second-largest bank could face additional penalties.
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that → impose → penalties
Already cut off from the dollar system over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, VTB now faces Iran-related sanctions that Treasury officials said could expose foreign banks and businesses that continue to deal with it to additional penalties.
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that → cut → penalties
Treasury said VTB had opened offices in Iran, established banking relationships with sanctioned Iranian lenders and helped build financial channels designed to facilitate trade and financial coordination between Moscow and Tehran.
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VTB → say → Moscow
The action, taken under an executive order aimed at increasing pressure on the Iranian economy, adds to US sanctions already in place against VTB Bank that were imposed in February 2022.
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that → take → February
The Treasury said in a statement that state-controlled VTB was now "among the most comprehensively sanctioned financial institutions in the world."
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VTB → say → world
The Iran-related penalties would increase the risk of secondary sanctions against foreign institutions that continue to do business with VTB, the Treasury added.
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Treasury → relate → VTB
"Under Operation Economic Outcast, Treasury will continue to target and disrupt those who provide material, technological, or financial support that allows the Iranian regime to sustain its terrorist enterprise,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.
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Bessent → continue → statement
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
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