The first six days of the war in Iran cost the United States $11.3 billion, Pentagon officials said at a meeting with lawmakers. Citing three people familiar with its content, The New York Times (NYT) reported about it, writes TASR.
- The United States spent $11.3 billion in the first six days of the war in Iran.
- This amount does not include pre-war costs, so the total expenditure will increase significantly.
- The military used $5.6 billion in ammunition in the first two days.
This amount does not include many expenses associated with the military operation that began with the attack by the United States and Israel on February 28, such as the deployment of military equipment and personnel before the first attacks. For that reason, lawmakers expect the total to rise significantly as the Pentagon continues to calculate the cost of just the first week of the war in Iran.
Ammunition costs
Still, this is the most comprehensive assessment Congress has received yet. The NYT and The Washington Post previously reported that Defense Department military officials told Congress that the military had spent $5.6 billion on munitions in the first two days of the war.
Estimates by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), an American think tank based in Washington, showed that the first 100 hours of the military operation cost 3.7 billion, or $891.4 million per day.
Rising daily expenses
The Iran War Cost Tracker website, which estimates the cost of the conflict in real time, reported Thursday that the war has cost the U.S. more than $17.5 billion so far and counting. According to this site, the United States spends about a billion dollars a day.
The NYT clarifies that in the first wave of bombing in the Islamic Republic, the US military used, among other weapons, air-to-ground guided bombs called AGM-154, which cost between $578,000 and $836,000 each.
Possible applications for finance
According to Reuters, several aides to members of Congress expect the White House to submit a request to Congress soon for additional funding for the war. Some officials say the request could be as high as $50 billion, while others say the estimate is low.
