A little more than two weeks after the start of the war against Iranthe cost for USA already amounts to tens of billions of dollars and it is growing at a pace that is worrying even within Congress itself. If the progression continues, and if the conflict is prolonged, the new war in the Middle East could rank among the most costly military campaigns since the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The first reports from the Pentagon estimate that Washington spent more than US$11 billion in the initial six days of fighting.
According to The New York Times, the information was revealed by officials of the Pentagon during a closed-door meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol.
An EA-18G Growler, assigned to the United States Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 133, takes off from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln for a mission in Iran. (AFP).
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Of that amount, US$5.6 billion were spent in the first two days alonemainly in precision missiles and other weapons.
In that first round of bombings against Iran weapons were used such as AGM-154 precision glider bombwhich can cost more than $836,000, the NYT reported.
During the beginning of the campaign, the average expenditure reached more than US$2 billion dailyalthough it later dropped to around US$1 billion a day by using cheaper ammunition, he added.
This U.S. Navy photo shows the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), firing a Tomahawk land attack missile. (CENTCOM/AFP).
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If the spending rate is extrapolated, more than two weeks after the conflict began the direct cost to the US could be between US$20,000 and US$25,000 millionalthough there is still no official consolidated figure.
However, the expense could be higher. According to the British newspaper The Guardian, The figures disclosed do not include what is spent on the deployment and maintenance of troops in the Middle East, the replacement of lost aircraft or drones, and anti-missile defense systems (Patriot or THAAD interceptors).medical care and military logistics, replacement of used arsenals.
The United States THAAD missile defense system. (AFP).
For this reason, some legislators hope that the White House will ask an additional package of up to US$50 billion to finance the war and replenish weapons.
According to Al Jazeera, several advisers to the Congress They have indicated that they expect the White House to soon submit a request for additional funds for the war. Some officials have said the request could be as high as $50 billion, while others believe that figure is low.
An M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) conducting live-fire missions during Operation Epic Fury against Iran. (US Army photo/AFP).
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Before the NYT revelation became known, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) had calculated that The first days of the US offensive against Iran involved extraordinarily high spendingdriven above all by the massive use of precision munitions and the deployment of naval and air forces.
In operational terms, CSIS estimated that air operations represented around US$125 million in the first 100 hours. naval operationswith aircraft carriers, destroyers and submarines deployed in the Gulf, cost about US$64 million. While ground operations they added some US$7 million in that same period.
United States sailors preparing to deploy ammunition on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during operations against Iran. (AFP).
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At this point, it must be taken into account that at the beginning of the war each attack of United States against Iran involved the use of extremely expensive weapons: A missile Tomahawk could be worth more than US$3 million and an interceptor Patriot exceeds US$4.7 million, while the JDAM guided bombs are around US$80,000. On the other hand, the Iranians use their medium-range missiles for their attacks and especially their cheap drones of just tens of thousands of dollars.
The billion-dollar wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
A US Marine covers the face of the statue of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with the US flag in al-Fardous Square in Baghdad, April 9, 2003. (Photo by RAMZI HAIDAR / AFP).
/ RAMZI HAIDAR
The cost of war Iran It is still a long way from more costly military campaigns like those of Iraq and Afghanistanwhere disbursements reached trillions of dollars in more than a decade.
However, if we take as reference a cost close to US$900 million per day in Iranthe projections would be approximately 325,000 million a year and an expense of about 3.25 trillion dollars in 10 years.
The invasion of Iraq, which began in 2003 until 2011, ended up costing between 1.9 and 3 billion dollarsaccording to academic and budget estimates that include not only military operations, but also reconstruction, care for veterans and interest on the debt contracted to finance the war.
During the most intense phase of the war, the average annual expenditure oscillated between US$150,000 and US$200,000 million.
In the case of Afghanistanwhere USA fought for two decades after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the total expenditure is calculated in around 2.3 trillion dollars. That figure covers military deployment, the training and financing of Afghan forces, the reconstruction of the country and the costs associated with caring for American soldiers after the conflict.
The cost of the war in Afghanistan. (AFP).
Both wars thus became long-term military operations and enormous fiscal impactfar above the spending that Washington has allocated in more recent conflicts or in shorter military operations.
Another expense to take into account is US financial and military assistance to Ukrainea country at war with Russia since February 2022.
Until the end of 2025, the United States Congress approved US$188 billion for Ukraine. Of that total, some US$127 billion is direct aid in weapons, economic and humanitarian support.
