Investigators administered polygraph tests to approximately 50 military officers and civilian officials on the Joint Staff in August following leaks to journalists about shrinking US munitions stockpiles during the Iran war, according to multiple media reports confirmed Friday.

The extraordinary security crackdown targeted personnel with access to classified weapons inventories after news outlets in July reported that the six-month conflict had depleted critical munitions including long-range missiles and Patriot interceptors used to defend against Iranian ballistic missile strikes.

Trump Fumed Over Public Exposure of Weapons Shortages

President Trump expressed frustration in early August that information about dwindling ammunition reserves had become public, arguing the disclosures make the United States appear weak as he threatens further military action to pressure Tehran into accepting a negotiated settlement.

Trump pushed back on the specific claims in a Truth Social post, stating that "The US has massive amounts of 'munitions,' especially of certain types." But he nevertheless appeared to confirm that supplies of some weapons were limited, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in July that the Defense and Justice Departments would jointly investigate the leaks.

Officials told the New York Times the polygraph effort was also intended to intimidate potential future leakers within the Pentagon's senior ranks.

Mass Testing Described as Extraordinarily Rare

While polygraph tests are a routine part of security clearance maintenance for top military and civilian officials, the scale of this operation—pulling in dozens of Joint Staff members simultaneously—was described as extraordinarily rare by Pentagon sources speaking to CBS News.

The leaked munitions data is exactly the type of classified information adversaries seek, raising concerns that foreign intelligence services may have penetrated the Joint Staff or that insiders sympathetic to ending the Iran war intentionally disclosed the stockpile figures to undermine administration policy.

Kurdistan24 reported the investigation focused on reports that raised the issue of declining US munitions during the Iran war, suggesting the leaks came from personnel frustrated with the pace of weapons consumption outstripping production capacity.

Broader Crackdown on Unauthorized Disclosures

The polygraph operation fits a pattern of aggressive leak investigations under Trump's second term. Earlier this summer, separate probes targeted officials suspected of sharing information about military planning and intelligence assessments with journalists covering the Middle East conflict.

Conservative commentators at American Thinker argued that "leaks won't stop until leakers face the death penalty," reflecting hardline sentiment within Trump's base that unauthorized disclosures of classified military information during wartime should be treated as capital offenses akin to espionage.

The Pentagon has not disclosed whether the investigation identified the source of the munitions leaks or resulted in any disciplinary action. Officials declined to comment on an ongoing security matter.