The Iran War Has Cost the US $37.5 Billion - Hegseth Faces Lawmakers, Calls for a $1.5 Trillion Budget for 2027
The cost of the United States' war in Iran has reached $37.5 billion so far, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, as he faced skeptical lawmakers for the first time since the bombings resumed. Hegseth called for urgent additional funding for the conflict, which is far from popular in the US.
Just six months away from the midterm elections, where President Donald Trump's Republicans could face an uphill battle to hold onto majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate, Democrats are ranking higher in public opinion polls as they try to link the unpopular Iran war to unaffordable prices.
Hegseth told lawmakers at a hearing in Washington that the $37.5 billion included certain aspects of the war, as well as projected costs through September 30. It was not clear how the Pentagon arrived at that figure. A source told Reuters in March that the Trump administration estimated that the first six days of the war alone had cost at least $11.3 billion.
Trump asked Congress last month for about $90 billion in additional funding, much of it related to the conflict with Iran, setting the stage for another clash with lawmakers frustrated by the war. Since the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran on Feb. 28, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have complained that Trump and his team have failed to keep them informed about the conflict.
“The president is threatening escalation and war crimes, and suggesting that this could be another perpetual war,” Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, said at the hearing. Trump has repeatedly issued grave threats against Iran, including targeting civilian infrastructure, that critics say would amount to war crimes.
Trump's Republicans have very small margins with Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate, and therefore bills to provide additional funding usually need the support of both parties to pass.
Hegseth called on lawmakers to not only fund the request for additional funding, but also another $1.5 trillion budget request for 2027. “Not funding this department at $1.5 trillion is, I believe, the greatest threat facing our nation,” Hegseth said.
The number of Americans killed in the war with Iran rose to 18 over the weekend, while nearly 430 troops have been wounded. The Pentagon said Monday that 100 service members have been injured since July 7, but most have returned to duty.
Last week, Trump threatened to expand the targets being struck in Iran to include power plants and bridges, send ground forces to seize the oil hub on Kharg Island, and bomb a deep underground site linked to nuclear weapons, known as Pickaxe Mountain.
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