The U.S. war in Iran has cost $25 billion so far, a senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday (29 April), offering the first official estimate of the military’s price tag for the conflict. The sum is equivalent to NASA’s entire budget for this year.
With just six months before midterm elections, in which President Donald Trump’s Republicans may face an uphill battle to retain their House majority, Democrats are performing strongly in public opinion polls as they attempt to link the unpopular Iran war to affordability concerns.
Jules Hurst, performing the duties of the comptroller, told lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee that most of the spending had been on munitions.
Hurst did not specify what the estimate included, nor whether it accounted for the projected costs of rebuilding and repairing base infrastructure in the Middle East damaged during the conflict.
The $25 billion figure is equivalent to NASA’s entire budget for this year, highlighting the scale of the military spending.
However, it remains unclear how the Pentagon calculated the total, given that a source told Reuters last month that President Donald Trump’s administration estimated the first six days of the war alone had cost the U.S. at least $11.3 billion.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers the cost was justified in light of the U.S. objective of ensuring Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.
"What would you pay to ensure Iran does not get a nuclear bomb? What would you pay?" Hegseth asked.
Hegseth also sought to defend the broader conduct of the war in forceful remarks, rejecting claims it had become a quagmire and criticising Democratic lawmakers as “feckless” for opposing the conflict.
"You call it a quagmire, handing propaganda to our enemies? Shame on you for that statement," Hegseth said in response to Garamendi, and slammed "reckless, feckless, and defeatist" Congressional Democrats.
The average U.S. petrol price rose on Tuesday to its highest level in nearly four years, according to data from the American Automobile Association.
Trump’s popularity has declined since the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran.
Just 34% of Americans approve of the U.S. conflict with Iran, down from 36% in mid-April and 38% in mid-March, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.
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