THE United States has suspended arms deliveries to NATO ally Estonia as its aggression in Iran has put a major strain on US weapons stockpiles.
Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur announced the news on Tuesday, saying that his American counterpart, Pete Hegseth, had told him in a phone call that the US would be suspending all arms deliveries to the Baltic state.
According to Pevkur, Washington will no longer ship HIMARS light multiple rocket launcher ammunition and Javelin missiles to its NATO ally, which borders Russia.
The US, in collaboration with Israel, waged an unprovoked war of aggression against Iran on February 28th.
The 40-day war had severely drained its weapons stockpiles by the time a Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire took effect on April 8th.
The same measure of suspending arms deliveries would affect Finland – another NATO ally that has the longest border with Russia, among NATO member states.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo insisted on Tuesday that ‘this has no impact on Finland’s defence capabilities’.
This is while Finland’s Defence Ministry stated that Washington has not yet confirmed whether it is also cancelling Finnish weapons orders.
However, in official-level communications, Washington has indicated that there may be delays in deliveries.
Helsinki agreed last year to acquire missile and rocket launcher systems from Washington for use in fighter jets, among other things.
Last week, three unnamed sources familiar with the matter, reported that Washington had informed its European allies of weapons delivery delays as the Iran war has depleted the US’s stockpile.
The report added that the measure would affect several European countries, including those in the Baltic region and in Scandinavia.
Some of the delayed deliveries, according to the report, involve arms purchased by European states under the government-to-government Foreign Military Sales programme (FMS).
The US has faced weapons shortages for years following the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, Israel’s genocide in Gaza in 2023, and two imposed wars against Iran.
The shortages have even pushed the Pentagon to use civilian factories for producing munitions.
Citing some unnamed military sources, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that senior US military officials have already held talks with top executives of major automakers, including General Motors (GM.N), and Ford Motor (F.N), to produce weapons and other military supplies.
Meanwhile, Pete Hegseth has removed US Navy Secretary John Phelan, the latest casualty of the US Secretary of War’s abrupt dismissal campaign, amid reported top-level opposition to Washington’s unprovoked aggression against Iran.
On Wednesday, Chief Department of War spokesperson Sean Parnell said Phelan was ‘departing the administration, effective immediately’, in a post on X, offering no explanation. Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao will serve as acting secretary.
The ouster was caught off guard and adds to a series of sudden shake-ups during Trump’s second term.
A person familiar with the situation told the American outlet Axios: ‘Phelan didn’t understand he wasn’t the boss. His job is to follow orders given, not follow the orders he thinks should be given.’
The dismissal came amid a naval stand-off with Iran, which has seen the Islamic Republic indefinitely shut the strategic Strait of Hormuz in retaliation against an illegal American naval blockade, which Tehran insists has to be removed before the chokehold is reopened.
The US is now fighting on a number of different fronts and its crisis is intensifying.
Now is the time for workers from the UK to the United States, Canada, Asia and Western Europe to organise general strikes to bring down the capitalist ruling classes and bring in workers governments and planned socialist economies! This is the only way forward!
