Updates quote in paragraph 5, Changes slug media identifier

By Andrius Sytas and Janis Laizans

VILNIUS/TALLINN, April 17 (Reuters) - The United States has informed Lithuania and Estonia of possible delays in the delivery of U.S. military equipment because of the Iran war, the Baltic countries' defence ministries told Reuters on Friday.

U.S. officials have informed some European counterparts, including in the Baltics and Scandinavia, that some previously contracted weapons deliveries are likely to be delayed as the conflict draws on weapons stocks, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Washington did not immediately comment.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which are all NATO members bordering Russian territory, are devoting about 5% of their gross domestic product to defence this year to urgently upgrade their armed forces.

"Lithuania has been informed by Pentagon representatives about possible delays in the delivery of ammunition purchased from the U.S. due to the conflict," a Lithuanian defence ministry spokesperson said in an email on Friday.

An Estonian defence ministry spokesperson said on Friday: "I can confirm that we were informed about possible delays."

Neither ministry specified which contracted deliveries were affected. Lithuania has about $640 million orders from the United States, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, according to the U.S. Department of State.

Estonia is in talks with the U.S. on "how to address these supply challenges", Prime Minister Kristen Michal told a press conference in Tallinn on Friday.

"Yes, the U.S. has informed us of the situation, and we understand the reasoning and the circumstances", he said, adding that the U.S. remained "our biggest ally".

Estonia's outstanding $160 million U.S. military orders include the HIMARS rocket system and Javelin missiles.

Latvia has not been officially informed by the U.S. of delivery delays, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina told the same press conference.

"We are all cautious but for now all agreements are on schedule", she said.