The cost of the war in Iran was $43.6 billion through Sept. 3, with bombs, missiles and other munitions accounting for more than 60 percent of the expenses, the Pentagon told Congress this week.
The estimate for the first time offered an unclassified breakdown of costs incurred by each of the armed services, as well as for specific categories, like damaged or destroyed weaponry.
The Air Force, for instance, has spent $6.6 billion to pay for operating dozens of fighter and bomber squadrons. The Navy has incurred $2.2 billion in costs to deploy more than two dozen warships, including several aircraft carriers. And it has cost the Army $1.6 billion to sustain its forces in the region. Overall, more than 50,000 troops are assigned to the war mission, according to U.S. Central Command.
Congressional officials shared the cost estimates with The New York Times after it was provided to congressional national security committees.
Since the war started on Feb. 28, the military has burned through $28.1 billion in munitions, seriously depleting global stockpiles of some critical weapons, like Patriot air-defense interceptors, and siphoning supplies from U.S. military commands in Asia and Europe.
The Pentagon has spent $4.3 billion to replace dozens of damaged or destroyed combat aircraft and other weaponry and equipment. It has spent $633 million to move and support several thousand Special Operations commandos in the region.
The information also revealed spending in other critical battlefield accounts, with the military spending $23.5 million on “in-house medical support” for U.S. service members, according to one congressional official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the information provided to lawmakers. The Pentagon says 18 service members have been killed in the war and more than 830 injured.
U.S. Transportation Command spent $92.1 million to move supplies and equipment, and U.S. Cyber Command spent $10.5 million on “cybersupport operations,” the official said.
In a statement, the Defense Department said on Friday, “We do not comment on leaked documents and always keep Congress informed.”
The department’s figures are almost certainly on the low side, congressional officials said on Friday, noting that the Pentagon acknowledged that its estimate did not include $1.5 billion for fuel and other costs that the Trump administration has asked for in a supplemental request to pay for the war.
The costs to repair or replace U.S. military facilities damaged or destroyed by Iranian attacks — such as the Navy’s base in Manama, Bahrain — also were not included in the information sent to Congress, as the Pentagon has indicated it may close or not rebuild them. If the military or host countries do rebuild, congressional officials say the bill could run tens of billions of dollars.
A report released this week by the Defense Department inspector general said the State Department estimated that its embassies, consulates and other diplomatic facilities in the Middle East had suffered about $184 million in damage from Iranian strikes.
The unclassified Pentagon cost estimates provided to Congress offer a rare glimpse into the financial accounting of the war, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his top aides have largely kept under wraps.
This week, the Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan scorekeeper, said the war in Iran cost the United States roughly $38 billion through Aug. 1 and significantly depleted U.S. munitions.
In a 19-page analysis, which the office said had been limited because the Defense Department did not respond to its requests for information, the C.B.O. projected that the war would continue to cost approximately $2 billion to $3 billion per month, and that rebuilding depleted U.S. stockpiles could take “at least five years.”
The budget office said it relied on government databases and public reports to make its assessment because the Pentagon declined to provide any information.
The office’s estimate was roughly in line with congressional testimony delivered in late July by Mr. Hegseth, who estimated then that the war had cost $37.5 billion.
Mr. Hegseth and the Trump administration are requesting as much as $70 billion in emergency military spending to cover the costs of the Iran war and pay for new weapons and personnel.
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