The United States spent more than $11.3 billion during the first six days of its military campaign against Iran, according to details from a Pentagon briefing to lawmakers reported by The New York Times.
Citing unnamed sources familiar with Tuesday’s closed-door briefing, the newspaper said members of Congress were informed that the figure does not include several expenses linked to preparations before the strikes began. Officials indicated that the total cost for the first week could rise significantly once those factors are included.
Earlier briefings to Congress revealed that about $5.6 billion worth of munitions were used within the first two days of combat, according to U.S. media reports. The rapid pace of weapons expenditure suggests the conflict is consuming resources far faster than previously estimated.
The Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that the first 100 hours of the military operation—referred to as Operation Epic Fury—cost roughly $3.7 billion, averaging more than $891 million per day.
According to the group, about $3.5 billion of those expenses had not been previously allocated in the defense budget.
Meanwhile, the Iran War Cost Tracker, which monitors spending related to the conflict in real time, estimated the total cost had surpassed $17 billion by around 08:00 GMT on Thursday. The site estimates that the United States is currently spending about $1 billion each day on the war.
However, analysts caution that the true financial burden is likely far higher, as the estimates do not include long-term costs such as healthcare and benefits for military veterans involved in the conflict.
