According to the Pentagon, Donald Trump’s war against Iran has already cost the United States about $25 billion. The main source of spending is munitions.
That was stated on Wednesday by Pentagon comptroller Jay Hurst in testimony before Congress. According to him, the United States has spent “about $25 billion on Operation Epic Fury”. “Most of that is ammunition,” he added. It is the first public estimate of the conflict’s cost provided by the Department of Defense.
During the war, the US military burned through years’ worth of expensive missiles and air-defence interceptors. That has heightened concern about America’s readiness for a possible conflict with China or Russia. The White House denies that the war has led to ammunition shortages. But the use of Tomahawk missiles, as well as Patriot and Thaad interceptors in strikes on Iran, has depleted stockpiles faster than they can be replenished under annual production levels.
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth, appearing before Congress for the first time since the war against Iran began, declined to answer how much more the conflict might cost. “What is the cost of ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon, given the radical ambitions of this regime?” he said. Hegseth also refused to specify how long the war might continue.
Although the US bombing campaign has stopped amid a fragile truce between Washington and Tehran, American military pressure on the Iranian regime continues. The naval blockade, intended to intensify economic pressure, involves more than a dozen ships and 100 aircraft.
After the truce was reached, the United States sent additional ships and several thousand troops to the Middle East, including a third aircraft carrier. For the first time in more than 20 years, the US Navy is simultaneously maintaining three such strike groups in the region.
Hurst, who appeared alongside Hegseth and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine at hearings on the Pentagon’s record $1.5 trillion budget request, said Congress would receive a separate supplemental funding request through the White House “after a full assessment of the cost of the conflict”.
The Pentagon had initially asked the White House to submit an additional request for $200 billion, although Hegseth had previously said that figure could change. Pentagon officials clarified that the $1.5 trillion budget request does not include the cost of the war against Iran.
According to Hurst, the $25 billion estimate also includes equipment losses and maintenance costs. As a result of Iranian attacks and friendly-fire incidents, various US military assets were damaged or lost, including fighter jets, strike and transport aircraft, drones, and radar systems.
During the hearing, Hegseth repeatedly clashed sharply with Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee, who criticised the administration’s approach to the conflict. In one such exchange, he said that calling the war against Iran “a quagmire” amounted to “broadcasting propaganda to our enemies”.
“Shame on you for that statement, and statements like that are reckless towards our troops,” Hegseth said.
“Do not say, ‘I support the troops,’ and then call a two-month mission a quagmire,” he added. “Who are you rooting for? Who are you supporting?”