Washington: The first week of the war against Iran has cost the United States more than $11.3 billion, lawmakers were told during a Pentagon briefing, according to a report by The New York Times that highlights the rapid pace at which the conflict is consuming weapons and resources.
The newspaper, citing unnamed sources familiar with the recent closed-door briefing at the Pentagon, reported that members of Congress were informed that the figure does not include several expenses linked to the military buildup ahead of the strikes, indicating that the total cost for the opening week could climb significantly.
Defense officials had earlier told Congress that about $5.6 billion worth of munitions were used in just the first two days of fighting, local media reported.
The Washington-based think tank Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated that the first 100 hours of Operation Epic Fury cost $3.7 billion, or more than $891 million per day. CSIS noted that most of those expenses, about $3.5 billion, had not been previously budgeted.
The Iran War Cost Tracker website, which estimates the conflict’s expenses in real time, showed the total spending had crossed $17 billion by around 08:00 GMT on Thursday. According to the site, the US is currently spending roughly $1 billion per day on the war.
