How America’s Military Spending on Missiles Affects Asian Security: Insights from the Iran Conflict

The United States, working to choke off Iran’s war financing, has moved to sanction a Chinese refinery that imports Iranian oil, putting pressure on both Tehran and Beijing. But U.S. forces have also expended a large share of their advanced long‑range missiles in strikes on Iran — a depletion that raises concerns about Washington’s ability to deter China.

On the 26th, the New York Times, citing U.S. administration and congressional officials, reported that since the start of Operation “Grand Anger” in February, U.S. stocks of the long‑range stealth cruise missile Joint Air‑to‑Surface Standoff Missile—Extended Range (JASSM‑ER) have dropped to roughly 1,500 rounds. The military used about 1,100 of those — roughly 40% of the inventory — in strikes on Iran. The JASSM‑ER has an approximate range of 1,000 km (about 620 miles) and costs roughly $1.1 million per missile (approximately 1.6 billion KRW). The NYT notes the JASSM‑ER was developed with a potential conflict with China in mind.

During the campaign the U.S. military fired more than 1,000 Tomahawk long‑range cruise missiles, each valued at about $3.6 million (approximately 5.3 billion KRW) — a sortie rate roughly ten times the U.S. annual procurement volume. Earlier, the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated in a March 27 report, prior to a ceasefire, that roughly 850 Tomahawks had been used in Operation Grand Anger and that remaining stocks likely numbered in the low 3,000s.

The military also expended more than 1,000 rounds of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) and ATACMS surface‑to‑surface missiles, sharply reducing those inventories as well. With global munitions strained by the Iran campaign, the Pentagon rushed missiles and bombs from U.S. stockpiles in Asia and Europe to the Middle East.

At the same time, the U.S. Treasury and State Departments imposed sanctions on Hengli Group, a major Chinese refiner that imports Iranian crude, saying Hengli is one of the largest purchasers of Iranian oil worth billions of dollars. Hengli processes roughly 400,000 barrels of crude per day, making it one of China’s largest single refiners. U.S. officials also froze approximately $344 million in cryptocurrency linked to Iran (about 508.2 billion KRW). Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “We will track funds Tehran desperately tries to move abroad and target every financial lifeline connected to the regime.”