US Vice President JD Vance reportedly gathered unvarnished assessments of the Iran war behind the scenes that differed from the picture publicly presented by the administration, The New York Times reported Thursday.
According to current and former US officials, Vance contacted US military commanders in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia throughout the spring and summer to seek their unfiltered assessments of the war in Iran.
He reportedly sought commanders' individual judgments in their own words before they were consolidated into a broader Pentagon assessment.
The discussions focused on various issues, including the war's objectives and tactics, casualty estimates, Iran's actions in the Strait of Hormuz, and how adaptable Iranian forces had become.
Vance also reportedly asked for detailed accounts of what remained in commanders' stockpiles and how transferring weapons to the Middle East could affect their ability to deter China, Russia, and North Korea.
The commanders were particularly concerned about depleted stocks of Patriot interceptor missiles, with some warning that supplies of critical munitions were at their lowest levels ever.
Some of Vance's conversations also involved concerns over the administration's overall strategy and the prospects for success.
