Trump Officials Claim The War That Isn’t Happening Now Costs $29 Billion
Acting Defense Department comptroller Jay Hurst said Tuesday that the cost of the war in Iran is now closing in on a total of $29 billion.
“The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the comptroller’s team are constantly reviewing that estimate, and so now we think it’s closer to 29,” Hurst said during testimony before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee.
Almost two weeks ago, Hurst testified at a House Armed Services Committee hearing that the cost of the war in Iran totaled $25 billion. The new updated cost is due to “updated equipment repair and replacement costs as well as just the general operational costs necessary to keep people in theater,” Hurst said.
This price increase comes as the Trump administration has insisted for weeks on the suspension of the war in Iran due to the ceasefire concluded between the two countries.
Earlier this month, the White House told Congress that as far as it was concerned, the war had been “finished” by the ceasefire, which began April 7 and has since been extended.
The administration also claimed that the ceasefire with Iran ended the War Powers Resolution’s 60-day deadline, requiring that a military operation receive congressional approval — or end — within two months of its start date.
This claim by the administration, experts told TPM, is false due to the ongoing maritime blockade, which is an act of war.
When asked Monday if the ceasefire was still in effect, Trump said he was “on life support.”
“I would say it’s the weakest right now after reading this garbage that they sent us,” Trump said at the White House, referring to Iran’s demands to end the war. “I haven’t even finished reading it.”
At the same time, other estimates point to a much higher cost of the current war.
The price tag is closer to $50 billion — almost double the estimate publicly shared by the Pentagon in late April — according to officials familiar with internal assessments who spoke with CBS News.
Other independent estimates have shown that even the $50 billion estimate is missing by more than $20 billion.
