During a closed-door session on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Pentagon representatives told US lawmakers that the military campaign against Iran had cost over $11.3 billion in just its first six days, three individuals familiar with the briefing said, according to The New York Times.
The figure does not account for several expenses tied to the operation, including the deployment of military equipment and personnel in the lead-up to the initial strikes. As a result, lawmakers believe the total will rise significantly once the Pentagon completes its assessment of costs incurred during the first week.
According to NBC News, a Pentagon spokesperson said, “We do not comment on closed-door discussions or matters. Regarding the cost of Operation Epic Fury, we won't know the cost until the mission is complete."
Despite the gaps, the estimate appeared to offer the most thorough picture presented to Congress to date, at a time when lawmakers are pressing for clarity on the conflict's objectives, scope and timeline.
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The Washington Post had previously reported that defence officials said in briefings that $5.6 billion in munitions were used during the war's opening two days.
The figures suggest a far higher level of spending and weapons consumption than had previously been made public. Earlier estimates by the Center for Strategic and International Studies placed the cost of the first 100 hours of the operation at around $3.7 billion, equivalent to roughly $891.4 million per day.
The cost projection for the opening days of the war arrives as US President Donald Trump considers the size of a supplemental funding request it plans to submit to Congress to finance the growing expense of the campaign. Lawmakers on the appropriations subcommittee will be central to shaping the proposal, reported NBC News.
How long the conflict may continue remains uncertain. On Tuesday, Trump offered mixed signals, saying the war could end “very soon”, while also suggesting that comments by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth describing it as “only the beginning” might also prove accurate. “I think you could say both,” Trump said.
The United States and Israel began coordinated strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, effectively ending more than a year of negotiations between the Trump administration and Tehran over its nuclear programme.
Since the attacks began, US and Israeli forces have killed several of Iran's senior political and military figures and carried out a bombing campaign that has left more than 1,200 Iranians dead. Iran has responded with retaliatory strikes on US bases and allied targets in the region, killing seven American servicemembers and injuring at least 140 others, according to USA Today.
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