AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): While the U.S. government continues to emphasize that a lasting agreement with Iran and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz are imminent, analyses show that the war against Iran has imposed heavy military, strategic, and security costs on Washington—costs borne by American society and the country's internal structure.
The consequences of the war against Iran have not been limited to the battlefield; they have led to the depletion of weapons stockpiles, a decline in America's strategic position, particularly in Asia, and the exposure of security vulnerabilities in the country's oil and gas infrastructure—issues highlighted in various American reports.
In this regard, warnings about the conflict turning into a strategic attrition for the United States have increased—a situation that, coupled with Washington's declining military readiness, could bring significant geopolitical gains for China.
Depletion of Weapons Stockpiles
In the military domain, Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona has warned that the United States is now less prepared to face a large-scale war in the future, describing the extent of the country's weapons stockpile depletion during the war as shocking.
The Washington Times, citing this member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, reported that he told CBS, "We have consumed a massive amount of munitions, and this reduces the security of the American people, whether in the event of a conflict with China in the Western Pacific or anywhere else in the world."
Kelly also questioned U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at a hearing earlier this month about how long it would take to rebuild these stockpiles; Hegseth replied that the process could take years.
In this senator's view, Washington still has the capability to respond and defend itself and its allies in the event of a short-term escalation, but America's long-term readiness has been severely damaged.
He emphasized that if the war against Iran continues for months or years, the slow pace of replacing weapons stockpiles would place the United States in a far worse position than if it had never entered this conflict.
America: The Biggest Loser of the Energy Crisis?
In another part of these analyses, Foreign Affairs magazine believes that China will be one of the main winners of the developments resulting from the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz crisis, while the United States may ultimately be the biggest loser of this crisis.
This assessment is based on the growing trend of countries seeking energy independence—a trend pursued through investment in renewable energies such as solar, wind, and hydropower, which will reduce dependence on oil.
According to the report, the bulk of these investments are flowing toward China—a country that has invested hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy industries in recent years and has now become the world's largest producer of clean energy technologies.
China today is the world's largest producer of solar panels, and both CATL, the world's largest battery manufacturer, and BYD, the world's best-selling electric vehicle maker, operate in this country.
In contrast, the United States has retreated from investing in clean technologies in recent years and has increased its spending on fossil fuels. According to Foreign Affairs, the Iran war has intensified this trend and increased the political distance of Asian countries from Washington.
Although America hopes to use the Strait of Hormuz crisis to boost its energy exports, the report emphasizes that Washington's proposals have become less attractive compared to what China offers.
At the same time, while some countries are concerned about dependence on China for clean energy infrastructure, the nature of renewable energies, which rely on the sun and wind, makes these sources less susceptible to geopolitical pressures and strategic chokepoints.
Accordingly, many countries have concluded after this war that geopolitical independence is, above all, tied to the ability to produce energy independently.
Cyber Threats and Infrastructure Vulnerabilities
The consequences of the war against Iran have not been limited to the military arena; concerns about cyber threats to America's critical infrastructure have also increased.
The National Interest reported that the war against Iran has once again highlighted the vulnerability of America's critical infrastructure, particularly in the oil and gas sector.
Damon Small, a board member of the cybersecurity company Xcib, told the magazine that the consequences of the war against Iran have revealed a major gap in trust and preparedness within the U.S. oil and gas industry.
According to the report, about 87 percent of operators in this industry think they can detect cyber intrusions within 24 hours, but only 16 percent actually have specialized monitoring systems for operational technology.
Small attributes this overconfidence to reliance on tools focused solely on traditional information technology. According to him, the linkage between IT and operational technology, while enabling functional development, has also paved the way for widespread cyberattacks.
In this regard, David Schloss, operations director at Suzohapp, also described the 87 percent confidence level as concerning, calling it a sign of a dangerous mindset.
According to him, many manufacturers of industrial systems over the past years have produced software and equipment that lack sufficient resistance to anomalous data and sophisticated attacks.
Experts emphasize that to build true resilience against cyber threats, continuous monitoring of operational technologies must be strengthened so that threats can be identified before they turn into physical disruptions.
Small also warned that the recent war has shown that attackers do not necessarily need to break encryption systems; it suffices to exploit the gap between IT and operational technology teams within organizations.
**************
End/ 345E
