Iran War Has Cost US Military $47.1 Billion, Pentagon Tells Congress

The war in Iran has cost the United States military 47.1 billion dollars as of October 16, according to an estimate US Central Command provided to Congress and obtained by USA TODAY. The figure is 3.5 billion dollars higher than the estimate for mid September, and more than 25 percent higher than the 37.5 billion dollars Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cited to lawmakers in July.

The total is almost certainly an undercount, USA TODAY reported, because it does not include the cost of damage to American bases and facilities across the Middle East that were hit by Iranian strikes.

Where the money went

Replacing spent munitions is the largest bill, at more than 29 billion dollars for air defense interceptors, bombs and other weapons. Equipment replacement adds 6.1 billion dollars, and other operational costs, including support for deployed personnel, add 11.9 billion dollars, according to the figures reported by The Media Line from the same Pentagon data.

The Air Force has spent the most of any service, at 7.6 billion dollars, after losing dozens of aircraft during the war. The Army has spent 2.1 billion dollars and the Navy 1.5 billion dollars. The Pentagon has used roughly 65 percent of its Patriot missile interceptor stockpile, a shortage that commanders say affects American readiness in other regions, including the Indo Pacific.

The human cost in the same ledger

At least 21 American service members have died and 865 have been wounded since February 28, according to the military's official casualty database cited by USA TODAY. More than 50,000 American troops have deployed to Central Command's area during the war.

The United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28. President Donald Trump first predicted the war would last only a few weeks. It has now run for nearly eight months, through an April ceasefire that allowed Tehran to recover some buried weapons and restore parts of its air defenses, Reuters reported.

What it means in Washington

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated in September that operations had cost about 38 billion dollars through August 1, and projected 2 billion to 3 billion dollars a month more, depending on the pace of fighting. The new Pentagon figure lands one week before the November 3 midterm elections, with voters naming gas prices and the cost of living among their top concerns, and with the administration asking Congress to fund the war through a 95 billion dollar package, according to Just the News.

The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment on the estimate, Reuters reported. Nothing in the October figures suggests the counting is finished.