Iran War Has Cost the U.S. Military at Least $47.1 Billion, CENTCOM Estimate Shows

The Iran war has cost the U.S. military at least $47.1 billion as of mid-October, according to a new estimate from U.S. Central Command that CBS News obtained. The estimate was provided to lawmakers, CBS News reported.

Most of that money has gone to replacing weapons already fired. The figure is also higher than the one Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave earlier, and it leaves out damage to U.S. bases in the Middle East.

The central numbers in the cost estimate

• $47.1 billion: the minimum total cost to the U.S. military as of mid-October, per CENTCOM.
• $29 billion: the approximate cost of replacing munitions used up in the fighting, the largest single share of the total.
• $6.1 billion: the cost of replacing lost equipment.
• $11.9 billion: incremental costs, a category that includes support for American service members.
• $37.5 billion: the approximate cost Hegseth had put on the war, also without counting damaged U.S. bases.
• $2 billion to $3 billion per month: the Congressional Budget Office's estimate of what the war could cost for as long as it continues.

What is behind the numbers

The CENTCOM estimate says the bulk of the price tag comes from replenishing munitions. The Congressional Budget Office has also pointed to the need to replace interceptor missiles, which are used to defend against Iranian attacks, as one reason for continuing monthly costs.

The CBO said those costs could climb during tit-for-tat exchanges between the U.S. and Iran. Such exchanges were common over the summer, CBS News reported, but have been quiet in recent weeks.

The estimate does not include the cost of damage to U.S. military bases in the Middle East. According to CBS News, many of those bases were targeted by Iranian drones and missiles, so the full cost of the war is likely to be larger than the published figure. CBS News said it had reached out to the Pentagon for comment.

Why it matters: money, munitions and Congress

The war's cost is a question of public spending, and it is already tied to a fight in Washington. The Trump administration asked Congress earlier this year to approve tens of billions of dollars in supplemental military funding, in part because of the Iran war, according to CBS News. That request has not passed. Democrats have pressed Hegseth for a more detailed accounting of what the war has cost.

The spending also bears on how well stocked the military is. The Pentagon's inspector general has said the U.S. faces what it called “strategic inventory shortfalls” because of the number of munitions expended during the war, CBS News reported. The Defense Department is working to speed up production. The Trump administration has argued that the military is not facing shortages. President Donald Trump said in early September that the military has virtually unlimited amounts of ammunition, far more than it could ever use.

What happens next

The war enters its ninth month this week, and its future is unclear, CBS News reported. Trump has suggested he might restart hostilities with Iran after next month's midterm elections unless Iran agrees to a deal. He told supporters at a rally in Florida last week: “We may do another little Epic Fury, or they’ll agree.”

If fighting resumes, the CBO's warning suggests costs could rise again, especially if the two sides return to the exchanges of fire seen over the summer. Meanwhile, the supplemental funding request remains before Congress without a vote to approve it.

Around Prague, based on reporting by CBS News