Pentagon Says Iran War Has Cost U.S. $37.5 Billion

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that the war with Iran has cost the United States an estimated $37.5 billion so far, as he defended the Pentagon's request for billions of dollars in additional funding.

Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hegseth said the latest estimate represents a sharp increase from the nearly $29 billion the Pentagon reported in mid-May.

"The estimate we have as of today is $37.5 billion," Hegseth told lawmakers while seeking approval for approximately $67 billion in supplemental funding for the War Department.

The updated cost estimate comes as U.S. President Donald Trump vowed that American military operations against Iran would continue, saying Tehran would need more than two decades to recover from the damage already inflicted.

"If we left right now, it would take Iran 20, 25 years to rebuild. Okay, and we're not finished at all... we're not leaving right now," Trump told reporters during a White House meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

The United States and Iran remain engaged in a full-scale military conflict that intensified after the collapse of a brief June ceasefire. The fighting has expanded beyond the Strait of Hormuz into a broader regional conflict involving Gulf states, proxy groups, and growing economic disruption.

According to U.S. officials, the U.S. military, under the coordination of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), has completed its tenth consecutive night of airstrikes inside Iran, targeting command centers, radar systems, air defense batteries, and drone launch sites in Shiraz, Chabahar, and Bandar Abbas.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has responded with waves of drones and missiles targeting U.S. regional assets. Recent attacks have hit power grids and desalination facilities in Kuwait, accommodation facilities at Bahrain's Sheikh Isa Air Base, and military infrastructure in Jordan.

The conflict has also taken a growing toll on U.S. forces. According to U.S. officials, 17 American service members have been killed since the broader conflict began on Feb. 28, while nearly 100 U.S. troops have sustained combat-related injuries since July 7, most of them diagnosed with minor concussions.

Trump has warned Tehran that it would pay "many times over" for every U.S. soldier killed and has ordered additional U.S. fighter aircraft to deploy to West Asia.