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Reflecto News | Breaking News | U.S. Defense & Budget
WASHINGTON — The United States has spent approximately $25 billion on the war with Iran since it began on February 28, a senior Pentagon official told lawmakers on Wednesday in the first official cost estimate released by the Department of Defense .
Acting Undersecretary of War for Finances Jules Hurst III disclosed the figure during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, where he testified alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth . Hurst confirmed that most of the funds have been allocated to munitions, with additional spending on operational costs and equipment replacement .
📊 War Costs at a Glance
| Cost Category | Amount / Details |
|---|---|
| Official Pentagon estimate | $25 billion (as of April 29, 2026) |
| Independent estimates | $25–35 billion (AEI); $61–65 billion+ (Iran War Cost Tracker) |
| Daily spending rate (early war) | $1–2 billion per day |
| First six days of strikes | $11.3 billion |
While the Pentagon’s $25 billion figure is the first official estimate, independent analyses have placed the total significantly higher. The American Enterprise Institute estimated spending between $25 billion and $35 billion as of early April . A separate “Iran War Cost Tracker,” which factors in personnel deployment, naval assets, and long-term sustainment, estimated costs had exceeded $61 billion as of April 24 . Russian state media outlets reported the tracker had surpassed $65 billion by April 29 .
The tracker’s methodology is based on Pentagon reports indicating that the first six days cost $11.3 billion, followed by approximately $1 billion per day thereafter .
🚀 Munitions Expenditure: A Staggering Toll
The $25 billion figure primarily reflects the cost of munitions expended during the conflict, which has seen an unprecedented rate of weapons consumption.
According to reporting from multiple outlets, the Pentagon has utilized:
- Over 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles in the first 72 hours of the conflict alone, each costing approximately $2.2 million to $3.6 million
- More than 1,200 Patriot interceptor missiles, each costing over $4 million
- Approximately 1,100 JASSM-ER cruise missiles, which carry a unit cost of around $1.1 million each
- Over 1,000 land-based missile systems, including Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM) and ATACMS
In the first two days of the war alone, lawmakers were told that $5.6 billion worth of munitions had been used .
📈 A Budgetary ‘Black Hole’
The $25 billion figure is not included in the Pentagon’s fiscal year 2027 budget request, which has already set a record at $1.5 trillion . Administration officials have indicated they plan to submit a supplemental funding request to Congress to cover war costs, but have not yet done so .
White House budget director Russell Vought recently told lawmakers he did not even have a “ballpark” estimate to share . This delay has frustrated members of Congress from both parties, who are being asked to approve additional funding without full visibility into the long-term cost trajectory.
As the conflict enters its third month, questions remain about how much more the war will ultimately cost and how long the U.S. will maintain its naval blockade of Iranian ports—a strategy the administration has indicated could last for months .
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