Cost of the War : 37.5 Bn USD and counting

Picture Credit: by Center for American Progress

The Iran war began on February 28. Nearly five months later, it is still running, and yesterday, America finally got the bill. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that the conflict has cost the United States $37.5 billion to date, nearly $8 billion more than the last public estimate in May. And that, analysts warn, is almost certainly the floor, not the ceiling.

The figure landed alongside a request for an additional $67.1 billion in emergency supplemental funding, $21 billion earmarked for high-end missiles and munitions, $11.6 billion for drones, satellites and military technology, and $2 billion to replace equipment lost or damaged in combat operations. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine told senators he was appearing before them asking for funding "while the window of opportunity, while time, is still on our side."

The pace of the spending is staggering. Analysts estimated in March that the war was consuming more than $890 million a day in its early phase. The conflict has now entered its eleventh consecutive night of US air strikes against Iran. Four American service members have been killed in the past four days alone, bringing the total US military death toll to 18. At least 14 merchant mariners have also died in attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.

Picture Credit: by ABC news

Meanwhile, President Trump warned Tuesday that the US will "probably soon" strike Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified underground facility believed to be linked to Iran's nuclear programme. Tehran responded immediately, warning that any attack on its nuclear sites would be treated as a direct expansion of the regional war. Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan all intercepted aerial attacks on Tuesday.

Some senators pushed back on the funding request, noting the Pentagon still holds $75 billion in unspent reconciliation money. The debate on Capitol Hill is intensifying. So is the war.