Pentagon cost estimate climbs past $43 billion
As of Sept. 3, the Iran conflict has cost the U.S. military $43.6 billion, per a fresh estimate delivered to lawmakers this week. U.S. Central Command, which runs Middle East operations, supplied the number — the latest accounting since the U.S. and Israel began the war on Feb. 28. A Congressional Budget Office report issued Tuesday put the total at $38 billion through Aug. 1, with roughly $3 billion in additional monthly spending expected, varying with how intense the fighting remains.[S1]
The updated accounting, which The Associated Press viewed and Punchbowl News first reported, further documented heavy reliance by American forces on costly weaponry. Over a span of slightly more than a month, munitions expenses climbed past $6 billion — rising from the $21.7 billion cited in the CBO report to $28.1 billion in U.S. Central Command's estimate.[S1]
Munitions dominate spending as interceptor stocks fall
Munitions accounted for the single biggest share in the new congressional report, making up considerably more than half of the total. Defensive missile interceptors — including those fired by the Army's Patriot and THAAD systems — have been the most sought-after advanced weapons. Depleted inventories have also unsettled Europe, where U.S. and NATO officials described a "beyond critical" interceptor shortage to the AP. Saudi Arabia, too, is short on interceptors and has sought help from regional and Western partners amid its prolonged standoff with Yemen's Houthi rebels.[S1]
Casualties, base damage and political fallout
Money is only one way to gauge the Iran war's effects, which have also moved oil prices and the stock market and produced American troop deaths and injuries. November's midterm congressional elections will settle the political reckoning, with Republicans confronting growing resistance tied to the war's unpopularity. The military's one-page submission to Congress covers running warships, aircraft and bases, plus equipment losses and medical care for service members. Pentagon figures list 18 killed and over 830 wounded, per the Defense Casualty Analysis System.[S1]
Damage to American bases across the Middle East, struck by Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, is left out of the report. A Pentagon inspector general report issued Monday found that Iranian attacks had damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and other structures at U.S. installations in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan.[S1]
