How much is the Iran war really costing? US bill may climb to $250bn

The Trump administration is facing scrutiny over its estimates of the cost of the US war with Iran, with critics arguing that the figures presented so far offer an incomplete picture.

According to the Pentagon, the US spent more than $11 billion within the first week of the conflict, a figure affirmed by White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett. However, officials acknowledged in a closed-door briefing to lawmakers that the total cost had already surpassed this amount within the first six days of military operations was much higher, suggesting the financial toll may be significantly higher than publicly conveyed, as cited by the Guardian.

War burning billions everyday

On February 28, the United States launched Operation Epic Fury, marking the start of its military campaign against Iran. Later that day, a Tomahawk missile strike hit the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school, killing 175 people.Tomahawk missiles were among a range of munitions used in the offensive. By the sixth day of the war, US forces had struck more than 2,500 targets, with the cost of offensive strike munitions alone estimated at $5.5 billion.

In response, Iran launched around 2,500 drones and missiles by March 3. The cost of air defense operations to intercept these attacks, including systems such as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), is estimated at $5.7 billion.

Longer war could push costs higher

Two government officials familiar with Operation Epic Fury estimated that the war is costing between $1 billion and $2 billion per day, equivalent to roughly $11,500 to $23,000 per second. They warned that, at this pace, the total cost could climb to $250 billion or more in the coming months, highlighting the rapidly escalating financial burden of the conflict, as cited by The Intercept. Appearing before the House Armed Services Committee, under secretary of defence for policy Elbridge Colby said the military campaign against Iran had been planned for up to five weeks, though he noted the timeline could be extended at the president’s discretion. However, he was unable to provide an estimate of the cost when asked by Rep Sara Jacobs, stating, “I can’t give you an answer at this point.”Officials from the office of the secretary of defence and Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson also declined to offer cost details in response to queries from The Intercept.Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council under US President Donald Trump, said the war is expected to last between four and six weeks. However, in the absence of detailed cost estimates from the Pentagon, experts, lawmakers and officials have begun offering their own projections of the financial burden of the conflict, Trump’s second military engagement with Iran within a year.Two government officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, estimated that a three-week conflict could cost taxpayers between $60 billion and $130 billion, while cautioning that the figures remain uncertain.

“It’s a back of the napkin estimate,” said one official.Officials estimated that a five-week war could cost up to $175 billion, while an eight-week conflict may push the total to $250 billion. “They really have no idea of the real cost,” said one official, pointing to longstanding concerns over the Pentagon’s accounting practices. The department of defence has never passed a full audit despite repeated attempts over nearly a decade.Pre-war military preparations, not included in the publicly cited $11.3 billion figure, had already cost an estimated $630 million, according to Elaine McCusker, a former senior Pentagon budget official now with the American Enterprise Institute. She noted that these expenses are likely to be absorbed within the Pentagon’s $839 billion budget for 2026.Early projections also significantly underestimated the cost of the conflict.

An initial assessment by the Center for Strategic and International Studies put the cost of the first 100 hours at about $3.7 billion, including operations, munitions, and equipment losses. However, Pentagon officials later disclosed in classified briefings that $5.6 billion worth of munitions had been used in just the first two days. An updated CSIS analysis now estimates that Operation Epic Fury had cost $16.5 billion by its 12th day.