Pentagon briefs lawmakers on cost of war on Iran – but true price tag remains unknown | US military
Pentagon officials told top lawmakers in a closed-door briefing Tuesday that the cost of the war against Iran has already exceeded $11.3 billion in its first six days, but the true cost of the conflict’s early days is likely much higher, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The figure, first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by the Associated Press, as well as the Guardian, represents the most detailed cost assessment Congress has received so far as lawmakers seek to clarify the scale and duration of the conflict.
But the estimate, presented in a classified briefing at the Capitol, appears largely limited to ammunition spending and does not reflect the full cost of the conflict’s early days, a person familiar with the matter told the Guardian. Additional costs to consider include deploying forces to the region, medical costs and replacing military aircraft lost during the war.
The Guardian reported last week that the United States was spending around $2 billion a day on munitions at the start of the conflict before dropping to $1 billion a day. The daily cost is expected to drop further as the war continues, unless the situation escalates.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operational details. The Pentagon previously declined to comment on requests for information about the cost of the campaign.
Still, the estimate provides the clearest picture yet of the scale of the campaign and the U.S. forces amassed in the Middle East as Donald Trump’s decision to abruptly launch a military conflict against Iran faces increasing scrutiny on Capitol Hill.
The initial strikes relied on sophisticated and expensive precision-guided weapons, including the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon, a glide bomb that can cost between $578,000 and $836,000 each. The U.S. Navy purchased about 3,000 rounds of ammunition nearly two decades ago.
As the campaign progressed, the Pentagon shifted to less expensive munitions, including Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM. The smallest JDAM warhead costs about $1,000, while the guidance kit that converts conventional bombs into precision weapons costs about $38,000.
The rapid burn rate of America’s most sophisticated weapons is likely to force Congress to pass an additional defense spending package to buy new munitions to replenish stockpiles, a source familiar with the matter said.
But the Trump administration has so far been evasive about the length of the Iran war and its ultimate goals, leaving lawmakers in both parties increasingly skeptical about approving additional funding for a package they fear will be open-ended.
