WASHINGTON—The U.S. military campaign against Iran has cost approximately $37.5 billion so far, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said during a Senate hearing on July 21.
Hegseth offered the Iran war cost estimate during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, as lawmakers consider an $86.7 billion supplemental spending request from President Donald Trump.
The requested supplemental covers funding for a range of government programs, including $67.1 billion for the Department of War.
Hegseth called on Congress to pass the supplemental request to sustain recent U.S. military operations, like the one in the Middle East.
“We face critical shortfalls that threaten our ability to also simply pay our service members, rapidly replenish equipment and munitions, and sustain vital operations without disruption,” he said.
“This supplemental request serves two purposes: sustain our military readiness to meet this year’s new demands, and accelerate critical capabilities to replace and augment those we have used in contingencies.”
The Pentagon has offered periodic estimates of the running cost of the recent military campaign in the Middle East, which began when U.S. and Israeli forces commenced strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Their last public estimate for the cost of the conflict was about $29 billion.
Much of the fighting occurred before Washington and Tehran entered a ceasefire on April 8, but there have been periodic exchanges of fire in the months since.
In June, Washington and Tehran agreed to a framework to bolster the ceasefire and facilitate further negotiations. The June framework has since faltered, and U.S. and Iranian forces have ramped up fighting in recent days.
