Live update: Cost of Iran war increases to $29 billion so far, Pentagon official says

Iran war cost hits $29 billion as Pentagon spending accelerates

Muhammad Asghar | GlobalBeat

The U.S. military has spent $29 billion on operations against Iran since January, a senior Pentagon official told reporters Tuesday.

The figure marks a 45% increase from the $20 billion disclosed three weeks ago and includes missile strikes, troop deployments and munitions replenishment.

Costs are climbing faster than any conflict since the 2003 Iraq invasion. Defense analysts warn the bill could top $50 billion by summer if the air campaign continues at its current pace.

Deputy Defense Secretary Elias Rangel briefed lawmakers behind closed doors Tuesday morning. “We’re burning through $800 million daily on flight hours, ordnance and regional force protection,” Rangel told reporters after the session. He said another supplemental funding request will reach Capitol Hill “within days.”

The disclosure landed hours after U.S. F-35s struck a uranium enrichment site near Natanz for the third night running. Satellite images showed the complex’s main hall gutted by bunker-buster bombs that cost $3.2 million apiece. CENTCOM said 28 sorties were flown in the past 24 hours, each requiring mid-air refueling from tankers that operate at $45,000 per hour.

Congressional reaction split along predictable lines. Sen. Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations panel, said the price tag “is worth it to prevent a nuclear Tehran.” Risch told MSNBC he would support an emergency package “north of $75 billion” if commanders request it. Progressive Democrats countered that every dollar spent on Iran is one diverted from domestic programs. Rep. Pramila Jayapal pointed to veteran homelessness in her Seattle district. “We can house every vet for 2% of what this war costs per week,” she wrote on X.

Regional allies are quietly sending bills of their own. Bahrain’s government invoiced Washington $340 million for expanded port access, according to a Gulf source with knowledge of the agreement. The UAE submitted a $970 million tab for missile defense batteries rushed to Abu Dhabi after Iranian rockets fell near the airport last month. Neither figure appeared in Tuesday’s Pentagon tally.

Investors reacted negatively. The S&P 500 defense sub-index jumped 2.8% in early trade, but airlines and shipping firms sold off. Crude futures rose $1.40 to $84.65 a barrel on concerns that Iranian retaliation might target tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Lloyd’s of London extended the war-risk zone eastward to Oman, adding $150,000 in insurance cost for every supertanker transit.

The White House budget office is already scrounging for offsets. Officials froze $4.2 billion in Army vehicle modernization funds last week and may delay a long-planned submarine order, according to an internal memo seen by GlobalBeat. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed tapping the Exchange Stabilization Fund, normally reserved for currency crises, during a Monday Oval Office meeting. The fund holds roughly $200 billion but requires congressional notification after $25 billion is withdrawn.

Background

The U.S. and Iran have fought a shadow war since 2020, when an American drone killed Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. Tit-for-tat strikes spiked again last December after Iran’s nuclear enrichment reached 90% purity, the threshold for weapons-grade material. President Trump ordered a “maximum disruption” campaign on January 9, three days after Iranian-backed militias killed two U.S. airmen in Jordan.

Previous American wars in the region offer sobering cost guides. The Afghanistan campaign averaged $6 million an hour for 20 years, according to Brown University’s Costs of War project. Iraq ran $8 million hourly from 2003 to 2011. Both figures exclude lifetime veteran care, now projected to exceed $2 trillion. Early modeling by the Congressional Budget Office suggests an Iran air war could match those rates within six months once reconstruction and disability claims are tallied.

What’s Next

House appropriators scheduled a classified briefing for Thursday with OMB Director Russell Vought and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Christopher Grady. Failure to pass a supplemental by Memorial Day would force the Pentagon to furlough 80,000 civilian employees, Comptroller John Tenaglia warned staff Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune vowed to bring a “clean” emergency package to the floor next week, but conservative hardliners are demanding offsetting cuts to climate programs.

European diplomats, meanwhile, revived talks on a revived nuclear accord. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas met Oman’s Sultan in Muscat Monday to explore a pause that could cap enrichment at 5% in exchange for phased sanctions relief. Iran’s mission to the UN did not respond to a request for comment, but state media called the $29 billion figure “proof America is bleeding money in a desert graveyard.”