Israel‘s foreign minister on Sunday rejected claims that it had told the United States it was running low on interceptors.

Gideon Saar also denied reports by Israeli newspaper Haaretz that Israel could hold direct talks with Lebanon in the coming days to end the war that erupted on 2 March.

On Saturday, global news site Semafor, quoting US officials, reported that Israel had informed Washington it was running dangerously low on ballistic missile interceptors.

Asked about the weekend reports, both of which cited unnamed sources, Saar said: “For the two questions, the answer is no.”

Israeli defence systems entered the current conflict already depleted after last year’s fighting with Iran, when large numbers of interceptors were used to block incoming missiles. Iran’s sustained barrage has placed further strain on Israel’s long-range air defence network.

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Reports indicate that Iran has also equipped some of its missiles with cluster munitions, complicating interception efforts and accelerating the depletion of Israel’s stockpile.

Washington has been aware of the problem for months. One US official told Semafor that “it’s something we expected and anticipated”.

The same official stressed that the US is not facing similar shortages and retains significant interceptor reserves. The comment comes amid growing concern that a prolonged war with Iran could rapidly drain missile defence supplies.

Earlier this week, CBS reported that the Trump administration had been informed that its Gulf partners, which are being targeted by Iranian missiles, are running so low on missile and drone interceptors that they now need to be selective about which projectiles to target.

Gulf states have been firing expensive interceptors from Terminal High Altitude Area Defense ballistic missile defence systems as well as Patriot missile batteries. The US only produces around 600 Patriot Pac-3 interceptors per year.

Saar on Sunday said Israel sees “eye to eye” with the US in the war on Iran, now in its third week, and that they are both determined to continue until their goals are achieved.

“We want to remove the existential threats from Iran for the long term. We don’t want to go every year to another war,” he told reporters.