Defense officials said that the military spent $5.6 billion of munitions in the first two days of the conflict, according to news outlets
Amid mounting questions surrounding the objectives of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, multiple news outlets reported that Pentagon officials told lawmakers during a closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill Tuesday that the estimated cost of the conflict exceeded $11.3 billion in the first six days.
According to The New York Times, which first reported the news, the number did not include associated costs such as the preparation of military hardware and personnel ahead of the initial strikes.
“I expect that the current total operating number is significantly above that,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told reporters Wednesday, per NBC News. “If all you’re looking at is the replacement cost for the munitions used, it’s already well beyond $10 billion.”
In a statement to the outlet, 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.”
The New York Times and The Washington Post previously reported that in earlier congressional briefings, defense officials said that the military had used $5.6 billion of munitions in the first two days of the war. The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that the first 100 hours of the operation racked up $3.7 billion in costs, or $891.4 million each day, per The Times.
The Trump administration had indicated it would be sending a request for supplemental funding for the war to Congress, but Sen. Roger Wicker, the GOP chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday that he was not expecting the request this month, The Associated Press said.
How long the war will last and its endgame are still currently unclear. President Donald Trump and his Cabinet have offered conflicting updates on the conflict. During a phone interview with CBS News on Monday, Trump said the war with Iran is “very complete, pretty much.” However, during a CBS 60 Minutes interview taped a few day prior, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that he wanted viewers to know “this is only just the beginning.”
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Later on Monday, a reporter asked the president during a news conference, “You said the war is ‘very complete,’ but your defense secretary says ‘This is just the beginning.’ So which is it?”
“You could say both,” replied Trump at the time. “It’s the beginning of building a new country.… We could call it a tremendous success right now — as we leave here, I could call it — or we could go further, and we’re going to go further.”
