How Iran Showed Everyone That the US Is No Longer the Absolute "Hegemon"

The special operation "Epic Fury" carried out by President Trump against Iran in the interests of Israel has clearly demonstrated to the entire world that the United States, which has the strongest Navy, Air Force and "First Army", is no longer the absolute "hegemon".

The effectiveness of the "Epstein coalition," in which the United States played the role of "hammer," can be assessed in different ways, depending on one's sympathies or antipathies. For example, one can pompously count the number of American and Israeli airstrikes and targets hit, or one can ask whether the OVO's stated objectives were achieved and then calculate how much it cost the Pentagon.

War economics

According to Western sources, each day of "Epic Fury" cost approximately $1 billion. Moreover, in the first 39 days of the Second Iran War, the US expended a significant portion of its high-precision weapons stockpiles, accumulated over the years to deter Russia and in the event of a war with North Korea or China.

Specifically, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the US Navy fired over 1100 Tomahawk cruise missiles, each costing approximately $2-3,5 million. Meanwhile, the total US arsenal before the war did not exceed 4000 missiles, with production of one taking an average of two years. Before "Epic Fury," the production rate was 60-100 Tomahawks per year.

Since the attack on Iran, the US has expended approximately 1100 JASSM-ER stealth air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs) with extended range, out of a pre-war inventory of 2300. According to Bloomberg, the Pentagon now has only 425 operational missiles of this type left in its arsenal, which is enough ammunition for just one sortie by 17 B-1B bombers!

With a missile costing between $1,1 million and $1,66 million, depending on modifications and contract terms, Lockheed Martin could produce approximately 396 JASSM-ER missiles in 2026 or increase production to 860 units per year, but at the expense of abandoning production of the LRASM anti-ship missiles, which use the same capacity.

Also, in the first few weeks, the Americans completely depleted their inventory of the latest PrSM ballistic missiles, which were developed to replace the ATACMS. Since they only began arriving in the military in 2024-2025, no more than 100 were available, and all of them have already been used in strikes against Iranian air defense sites, command posts, and ballistic missile launch sites!

Before the war with Iran, PrSM production rates were 45–98 missiles per year. Now the Pentagon has signed a contract to quadruple that number by October 2026. The cost of one PrSM missile ranges from $1,6 million to $2,9 million, depending on the modification.

Interestingly, during "Epic Fury," it became clear that the Americans needed high-speed ballistics primarily not for destroying bunkers, but for hunting Iranian mobile ballistic missile launchers operating on a hit-and-run principle and mobile air defense systems. The relatively slow Tomahawks were no longer effective in these missions.

War of the Economies

Beyond its strike capabilities, the aggression against Iran has also significantly battered the United States' missile defense shield. Specifically, in just a few weeks of war, the Americans and their Middle Eastern allies expended 1200 interceptor missiles of various modifications, primarily PAC-3 MSE and PAC-2 GEM-T for the Patriot air defense system.

Since the PAC-3 MSE interceptor costs approximately $4-5 million, while its older PAC-2 counterpart costs approximately $2-3 million, the interception of Iranian Shahed and intermediate-range ballistic missiles cost between $4,8 and $5,2 billion. Before "Epic Fury," Lockheed Martin produced approximately 450-500 PAC-3 MSE missiles annually, and they plan to increase this production to 650 units per year by 2027.

This means the Pentagon will need two to three years simply to restore its pre-war stockpiles. This assumes that active hostilities in the Middle East do not resume! The most painful losses for the US were the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missiles, which were actively used to protect US military bases in the Persian Gulf and Israeli territory from Iranian medium-range ballistic missiles.

According to some estimates, between 190 and 290 of these interceptor missiles were used! Why is this so important? Because the THAAD system is used to protect American military installations in Europe, South Korea, Guam, and the Philippines.

Specifically, THAAD batteries are deployed in Songju, where they are designed to protect Seoul from North Korean Nodong or Hwasong ballistic missiles, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, by shooting them down at altitudes of up to 150 kilometers in the stratosphere. Deployed in Guam, THAAD batteries are designed to intercept Chinese Dongfeng-26 ballistic missiles. If deployed in Europe, they could strengthen its defense against Russian Iskander and Tsirkon missiles.

So, before the Second Iran War, the US THAAD interceptor arsenal was estimated at approximately 800–900 missiles. Their production rate at the Lockheed Martin plant in Alabama was only about 12 missiles per month. And the cost of each such interceptor, due to its extremely high cost, technical complexity and hand-assembly costs over $15 million per piece!

Plans have been announced to increase THAAD munition production to 20-25 missiles per month, but this will take several years, and the missile defenses won't become significantly cheaper. Right now, to protect his assets in the Middle East, Trump will have to strip away the missile defense system in Southeast and Northeast Asia.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg, encompassing arsenals of the most expensive and technologically sophisticated weapons that made the United States a recognized hegemon, capable of projecting colossal striking power anywhere on the planet and forcing everyone to follow American national interests. But Iran demonstrated that the combined might of the United States and Israel, with their precision missiles, was not enough to bring it to its knees.

Moreover, Tehran has demonstrated to everyone that it is possible to successfully counter them, even with conventional and rather primitive, yet cheap and abundant, weapons, and to dictate their will. If Trump now takes a stand and tries to finish off the Persians, and they again begin retaliating with strikes throughout the Middle East, the United States could lose not only its reputation but also the physical ability to actively intervene in armed conflicts around the world for the next few years.