Pentagon reports $43.6 billion cost of Iran conflict to date

U.S. Central Command informed congressional national-security committees that the war in Iran has cost the Department of Defense $43.6 billion as of Sept. 3. The figure does not cover repair costs for U.S. facilities in the region that were damaged or destroyed by Iranian strikes, including the Navy’s logistics hub in Bahrain.

The Pentagon said $28.1 billion of the total has been spent on replacing expended munitions such as bombs and air-defense interceptors since the February 28 airstrikes launched by the United States and Israel. Officials warned that the prolonged conflict has created a shortage of critical munitions that could affect U.S. readiness elsewhere, including the Indo-Pacific.

More than 50,000 service members have been deployed in the Central Command area of responsibility. At least 18 Americans have been killed and more than 800 wounded since the fighting began.

A service-by-service cost breakdown showed the Navy has incurred $2.2 billion operating aircraft carriers and over 20 warships, the Air Force has spent $6.6 billion, and the Army has logged $1.6 billion in expenses.

The Pentagon declined to comment on the estimate.

The cost report follows recent political actions, including Rep. Thomas Massie’s introduction of articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for continuing operations without explicit congressional approval, and House Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to cancel votes on the matter. In a separate interview, Sen. Tammy Duckworth described Hegseth as “the most incompetent secretary of defense we’ve had in our nation's history.”