Pentagon puts Iran war cost at $47.1 billion

Key Takeaways

The estimate	U.S. Central Command told Congress the war had cost $47.1 billion as of Friday, Oct. 16, the Associated Press and Stars and Stripes reported.
The increase	That is about $3.5 billion more than the $43.6 billion reported through Thursday, Sept. 3, Stars and Stripes said. The AP placed the earlier figure in early September.
The breakdown	About $29 billion is for replacing munitions and about $11.9 billion is for operations. Outlets differ on equipment, Army and Navy lines.
What's excluded	The estimate leaves out damage to U.S. bases. The Pentagon did not immediately comment, the AP and the New York Times reported.

The Pentagon told Congress that the Iran war cost American taxpayers $47.1 billion as of Friday, Oct. 16, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday, Oct. 28. U.S. Central Command's estimate is about $3.5 billion above the roughly $43.6 billion figure the command gave lawmakers in early September.

Where the Iran war cost is going

The largest share is munitions. The AP said about $29 billion of the total is for replacing weapons. Stars and Stripes, in its own report the same day, said about $29 billion is set aside for munitions and that this cost, with equipment replacement, remains unfunded. The New York Times, in a report carried by The Philadelphia Inquirer, said bombs, missiles and other munitions account for more than 60 percent of the $47.1 billion. The Times said the services have used $29 billion in munitions since the war began on Saturday, Feb. 28.

Operations account for about $11.9 billion, the AP and Stars and Stripes reported. The Air Force share is $7.6 billion in the AP, Stars and Stripes and the Times. The Army figure is "more than $2 billion" in the AP, $2 billion in Stars and Stripes, and $2.1 billion in the Times. The Navy figure is $1.45 billion in the AP, $1.4 billion in Stars and Stripes, and $1.5 billion in the Times. The Times said more than 50,000 troops are assigned to the mission, citing Central Command.

The AP said the Navy number had fallen from $2.2 billion in early September. The Navy and Central Command sent questions to the Pentagon, which did not immediately answer, the AP reported. The Times said the Pentagon also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The estimate itself was given to congressional national-security committees. None of the three accounts quoted a Pentagon news release.

Equipment losses are an additional $6 billion in the AP and $6.1 billion in Stars and Stripes and the Times. Stars and Stripes listed about $645 million for Special Operations Command airlift, $92 million for Transportation Command, and $24 million for medical support. The Times put medical support at $24.5 million and Transportation Command at $92.2 million, and added $14 million for Cyber Command.

What the Iran war cost leaves out

The estimate does not include damage to U.S. bases from Iranian missiles and drones, the AP and Stars and Stripes reported. The AP, citing a Pentagon inspector general report it described as released in September, said Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and other structures at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan.

The Times, citing congressional officials, said the estimate also left out $1.5 billion for fuel and other costs that the administration had put in a supplemental request. Those officials said rebuilding damaged bases could run to tens of billions of dollars if the military or host countries replace them. The Times reported that the Pentagon has indicated it may close some sites or not rebuild them. The officials said the published tally is almost certainly low.

The AP said the Pentagon's official tally lists 21 service members killed and 865 wounded, including deaths in medical events and other cases not tied directly to the fighting. Of that tally, 18 were killed by Iranian strikes, combat-aircraft crashes, or disposal of Iranian drones, the AP reported. The Times said the Pentagon's figure is 18 service members killed and more than 860 injured. Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday, Oct. 28, that "Twenty-one American service members have lost their lives and more than 850 have been wounded because of this war," Stars and Stripes reported. He added that the conflict has "cost the American people nearly $50 billion in military expenses."

A request before the Nov. 3 vote

The AP said the White House is asking Congress for a $95 billion package that would help fund the Iran war and other priorities, and is pushing a $1.5 trillion military budget proposal. Stars and Stripes reported a different supplemental figure: the Pentagon is seeking $67 billion for war-related expenses, and action has stalled while both chambers are in recess before the elections on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The Times said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the administration are requesting as much as $70 billion in emergency military spending for the war and for new weapons and personnel.

The AP said Wednesday, Oct. 28, marked eight months of a war the United States and Israel launched in late February. The Times dated the start to Saturday, Feb. 28. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a news release quoted by the AP, "Trump and his ego led us into this war with no plan, no authority, and no exit strategy." He said Senate Democrats would keep working "to end this disaster of a war and stop the costs, chaos, and corruption seeping from the White House."

The AP reported that President Donald Trump has said new strikes on Iran remain an option after the elections, and that a third aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops are on the way to the region. A recent AP-NORC poll found that most voters want Congress to put ending the war first, the AP said, without giving the share.