Manama, Bahrain, on Feb. 28, 2026. The skyline following the first strike on U.S. Naval Support Activity Bahrain, seen from across the city. (Shannon Renfroe/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee are demanding that the Pentagon publicly disclose the cost of the damage to U.S. military bases and facilities during the war with Iran.
The five senators said they learned the figure during a recent classified briefing, but it has yet to be disclosed to the public. Pentagon officials have omitted the number when publicly estimating the war’s cost.
“Americans deserve to know how much of their money is being burned on Trump’s war with Iran,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said in a post on X on Monday.
She led a letter sent Sunday to Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, who briefed the committee on the cost of the damage. The letter is also signed by Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Gary Peters of Michigan.
“Even if DOD has not yet determined which facilities it is planning to rebuild, disclosing these costs represents the bare minimum transparency DOD owes the public,” the senators wrote, referring to the Department of Defense.
They are requesting unclassified responses by Nov. 2, arguing “there is no rationale” for classifying the cost estimate.
CENTCOM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pentagon officials have declined to publicly disclose the extent of the damage caused by Iranian drone and missile attacks on U.S. bases in the Middle East since the U.S. attacked Iran in late February.
The Congressional Budget Office’s report last month estimating the war’s cost at $38 billion noted that the Pentagon did not share figures for damage to U.S. military bases and facilities.
A recent report by the Pentagon’s inspector general found that, citing State Department estimates, Iranian damage to U.S. embassies, consulates and other diplomatic facilities had cost $184 million but did not include an estimate for military installations.
Video footage, satellite images, photos and media reports have offered a glimpse of the destruction, painting a “dire picture of U.S. bases and facilities damaged and destroyed by Iran,” the senators wrote.
They include significant damage to a U.S. Navy base in Bahrain, which Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao acknowledged Iran “blew the hell out of.” Damage has also been reported in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Qatar.
The senators said the estimated cost of the war’s toll on military infrastructure should be available not only be available to lawmakers.
“The American people deserve to know the full cost of the Trump administration’s unauthorized war against Iran,” they wrote.