War with Iran may have cost the US $40-$50 billion so far: Report

The real estimated cost to date for the United States (US) for the war against Iran is likely closer to $40–$50 billion- about double the $25 billion estimate a top Pentagon official gave to American lawmakers on Thursday, when the cost of rebuilding American military installations struck by Iran and replacing destroyed assets is taken into account, US news organisation CNN reported, citing an unnamed source.

Citing three sources familiar with the matter, the report said the $25 billion estimate was a conservative figure, as it does not include the cost of repairing the substantial damage done to US bases in West Asia.

It pointed out that Iranian strikes across the region in the early days of the war caused significant damage to at least nine US military sites within just 48 hours, affecting facilities across Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

Pentagon comptroller Jules Hurst III told the House Armed Services Committee, a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives, on Thursday that munitions accounted for “most” of the $25 billion cost cited by him, the report added. Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reportedly declined to say whether that figure included the cost of repairing damage to US bases.

A number of critical US radar systems and other equipment across West Asia were destroyed or damaged by Iranian strikes. A US Air Force E-3 Sentry aircraft, a crucial and expensive airborne early warning and control platform, was also destroyed in an Iranian strike on a Saudi Arabian air base.

Earlier, Pentagon officials told the US Congress that the West Asia war had cost roughly $11 billion in just the first six days. In March, the agency also asked the White House to approve a request to the US Congress for more than $200 billion in additional funding for the war.

The Pentagon has made a $1.5 trillion budget request for the financial year 2027.