Sept. 19 (UPI) — The Iran war has cost the United States at least $45.1 billion, military officials said on Friday.
Pentagon officials notified Congress about the amount, covering the conflict through early September.
The figure is higher than previously disclosed, and doesn’t include costs to repair damaged bases and other military facilities overseas.
Just two days earlier, the Congressional Budget Office published a report saying the war had cost about $38 billion as of Aug. 1.
Official projections show the Defense Department could spend $2 billion to $3 billion per month moving forward.
The CBO report said the war has left the United States with a “reduced inventory” of missile interceptors that could last years.
The Pentagon report to Congress also estimated the war could increase inflation for the first quarter of 2027.
On Thursday, Senate Democrats signed an open letter asking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide a detailed cost breakdown of the war.
“Despite asking for tens of billions of additional taxpayer dollars, you have so far failed to provide basic information on how this money has and will be spent,” the senators wrote.
“Congress must have access to this information to carry out our oversight responsibilities. It is the bare minimum that any American would expect in balancing their own household budget.”
The letter was signed by all Democrats except Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who supports the war and has recently clashed with the Democratic caucus.
“Meanwhile, at home, American taxpayers have already paid an extra $100 billion out of their pockets for higher gas and diesel prices alone and at least another $60 billion in higher costs for things like groceries, mortgages, and plane tickets as a result of the war,” the senators wrote.
“Now you are asking that they pay again to fund a war of choice that Congress never authorized and the President launched with no strategic plan.”