Qatar Patriot interceptors may be exhausted within 4 days at current engagement rates, UAE within 7 days; Pentagon considering pulling THAAD batteries from South Korea — directly degrading Pacific deterrence

Defence Security Asia reports Qatar’s Patriot missiles may be exhausted within 4 days of current engagement rates, UAE within 7 days. The Atlantic: ‘The One Variable that Could Decide the War’ — stockpiles. Cost asymmetry is mathematically unsustainable: $20,000 Iranian drone vs $4,000,000 Patriot interceptor. Iran can produce cheap drones faster than US can produce expensive interceptors. US annual production: ~550 PAC-3 MSE Patriot, ~125 SM6, ~96 THAAD — rates already strained by Ukraine. Pentagon actively considering moving THAAD batteries from South Korea to Middle East (Jerusalem Post) — directly reducing Pacific deterrence against North Korea/China in real-time. Lawmakers weighing emergency supplemental defense funding (Breaking Defense). Trump claimed publicly Iran ‘running out of launchers’ and US stockpiles ‘virtually unlimited’ — contradicted by Pentagon leaks saying 10 days before critical shortfall. This is the war’s clock: 4-day/7-day Gulf interceptor exhaustion timeline is either ceasefire forcing function or collapse of regional air defense.