War in Iran: US Will Delay Arms Deliveries to Certain European Countries Due to Middle East Conflict

The United States has warned Lithuania and Estonia of possible delays in the delivery of their American military equipment orders due to the war in Iran, which is heavily taxing American arms stocks.

According to Reuters, American officials have informed several of their European counterparts, including those from Baltic and Scandinavian nations, that planned weapons deliveries could be impacted.

Lithuania has confirmed being notified by the Pentagon of “possible delays in the delivery of purchased ammunition from the United States due to the conflict,” said a spokesperson for the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense. Similarly, the Estonian ministry confirmed being “informed about possible delays.” Washington has not yet responded.

Several hundred million dollars worth of orders are at stake, with Lithuania having orders for Javelin anti-tank missiles worth around $640 million from the United States. Estonia also has ongoing orders totaling $160 million, including the HIMARS system and Javelin missiles. Prime Minister Kristen Michal stated that Estonia is discussing with the United States to “address these supply difficulties,” while reaffirming the United States as their “greatest ally.”

Unlike its neighbors, Latvia has not been officially informed by the United States of potential delivery delays, according to Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina during the same press conference.

These three Baltic nations, NATO members sharing a border with Russia, each invested about 5% of their GDP this year in defense to modernize their armed forces in response to security concerns.