Pentagon understates Iran war cost estimate, report says

WASHINGTON (MNTV) — The Pentagon’s latest estimate of the cost of the war against Iran significantly understates the true figure by excluding damage to U.S. military bases, according to a report by CNN citing three people familiar with the matter.

On Wednesday, senior Pentagon official Jules Hurst told the House Armed Services Committee that the conflict has cost about $25 billion, marking the first official figure released to lawmakers.

However, sources told CNN that the total cost could rise to between $40 billion and $50 billion when accounting for repairs to military installations across West Asia damaged during the fighting.

The report said Iranian strikes targeted at least nine U.S. facilities in countries including Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Damage reportedly included destroyed radar systems, such as components tied to a U.S. THAAD missile defense battery in Jordan and similar systems at two sites in the UAE.

CNN also reported that a U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry aircraft was destroyed in a strike on a Saudi air base.

Hurst told lawmakers that most of the $25 billion estimate has been spent on munitions. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to say whether the figure included the cost of repairing damaged bases.

Hurst said last week that the Pentagon has yet to finalize a comprehensive assessment of damage to overseas installations and that those costs are not included in the department’s $1.5 trillion budget request for 2027.

During Wednesday’s hearing, lawmakers from both parties challenged the estimate. Rep. Ro Khanna called the $25 billion figure “totally off,” noting that officials had previously told Congress the war cost about $11 billion in its first six days.

Hegseth also faced criticism over the broader economic impact of the conflict, including rising fuel prices and the rationale for the war. He rejected the criticism, calling Democratic opponents “reckless, feckless, and defeatist.”

The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, launched in late February and initially expected to last several weeks, has killed thousands of civilians and contributed to a global energy crisis amid continued disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.