The estimate, delivered in a closed-door briefing to senators on Capitol Hill, underlines the immediate fiscal weight of the conflict even as the strategic objectives and expected duration of the campaign remain uncertain.
The first Iran war bill
Pentagon officials told lawmakers that the war against Iran had exceeded $11.3 billion in the first six days of fighting, according to people familiar with the briefing cited by The New York Times and Reuters. The figure reflects spending during the opening phase of combat operations after the campaign began on February 28 with coordinated US and Israeli airstrikes.
The number does not represent the total cost of the conflict so far. According to NYT, the estimate excludes many expenses tied to the buildup of military hardware and personnel that took place before the first strikes. Because those costs are still being calculated, lawmakers expect the total cost of the first week to increase as the Pentagon continues its accounting.
Still, the estimate appears to be the most comprehensive figure Congress has received so far amid mounting questions about the war’s scope and objectives.
The conflict has already produced significant human and economic consequences. According to Reuters, roughly 2,000 people have been killed, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, as the fighting spread into Lebanon and disrupted energy markets and transport across the region.Also Read | Iran war: Donald Trump has never been a planner, and that’s deadly
A rapid burn rate of weapons
Much of the early spending reflects the extraordinary pace at which the US military has used high-precision munitions. Defense officials told lawmakers that about $5.6 billion worth of munitions were expended in the first two days of the war alone, according to various reports.
The opening wave of strikes included weapons such as the AGM-154 glide bomb, which costs between $578,000 and $836,000 per unit, according to NYT. The Navy purchased about 3,000 of these bombs nearly two decades ago. In recent years the Pentagon has tried to move toward cheaper alternatives such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition. The smallest version of that weapon uses a warhead costing about $1,000 and a guidance kit priced at roughly $38,000.
Even with such cheaper systems, the pace of operations has driven daily costs sharply upward. Analysts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that the first 100 hours of the campaign cost about $3.7 billion, or roughly $891.4 million per day. That burn rate suggests that even limited air campaigns can consume vast resources when sustained over several days.
Also Read |Iran lists three conditions to end war with US, Israel
A funding fight looms in Congress
The early cost estimate is already shaping a looming political fight in Washington. According to Reuters, congressional aides expect the White House to soon ask Congress for additional funding to support the war. Some officials believe the administration may request around $50 billion in supplemental funding, although others have warned that such a figure could prove too low depending on how long the conflict lasts, Reuters reported.
The debate over funding reflects broader uncertainty about the war’s trajectory. President Donald Trump said during a visit to Kentucky that “we won” the war but added that the United States would remain engaged to “finish the job,” according to Reuters.
Members of Congress from both parties say the administration has not yet provided a clear public explanation of the campaign’s long-term strategy. Democratic lawmakers have demanded public testimony under oath from administration officials to clarify how long the war might continue and what Washington’s plans for Iran would be once the fighting ends, Reuters reported.
Pressure on the US arsenal
Beyond the budget debate, lawmakers are increasingly worried about the strain the conflict could place on the US military’s stockpiles of weapons. Members of Congress have warned that the pace of operations could deplete inventories at a time when the defense industry is already struggling to increase production capacity, according to Reuters. The Pentagon has been working to replenish supplies, and Trump recently met with executives from seven defense contractors as officials looked for ways to ramp up production.
The concern reflects a longer-running debate in Washington. Some Republican lawmakers have argued for years that the United States should significantly increase domestic production of missiles and other munitions. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who chairs the Senate subcommittee that funds the Pentagon, has repeatedly urged higher spending on munitions production across multiple administrations, according to NYT.
Yet support for new war funding is far from guaranteed. Some Republicans have expressed hesitation about approving a costly supplemental package for a conflict they fear could become open-ended, while Democrats have said they want far more detail about the administration’s strategy before committing additional funds.
Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a Democrat and member of the Foreign Relations Committee, wrote on social media Tuesday night about a classified briefing the White House shared with him and other legislators about the Iran war: “I obviously can’t disclose classified info, but you deserve to know how incoherent and incomplete these war plans are,” he said. “They are going to spend hundreds of billions of your taxpayer dollars, get a whole bunch of Americans killed, and a hardline regime — probably a MORE anti-American hardline regime — will still be in charge.”
The real cost may still be ahead
For now the $11.3 billion estimate represents only the first installment of what could become a much larger financial commitment. Early wartime figures typically capture the visible costs of bombs, aircraft sorties and fuel. The deeper expenses tend to accumulate later through troop deployments, equipment replacement and the rebuilding of depleted arsenals.
The briefing on Capitol Hill therefore offered lawmakers not a final accounting but the first indication of how expensive the conflict may become. Nearly two weeks after the first strikes, the war’s strategic outcome remains unclear. Its financial trajectory may take even longer to emerge.