Iran-US war cost: Inside Pentagon's $47 billion bill as Trump says war will end ‘when I want it to’

The US military has spent over $47 billion so far to prosecute the war in Iran, according to Pentagon data obtained by Reuters. This was more than 25 per cent higher than the Defense Department's estimate in July.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its estimate, which has not been shared publicly.

Inside $47 billion bill

The Pentagon's latest estimate was tied to the operational costs of carrying out the war, with a projected cost of more than $29 billion to replace expended munitions used in the conflict, Reuters reported.

It claimed that more than $6 billion would be needed to replace military equipment and so-called "platform losses," which include the loss of aircraft, including many drones lost during the war.

The massive price tag on the war does not include the costs of damaged military bases in the Middle East, which is estimated at $184 million as of June 29, according to a lead inspector general report to Congress.

This figure counts damage to US diplomatic facilities in four countries — Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — from Iranian strikes, CNBC reported.

Cost to Americans

Meanwhile, Mark Zandi, Moody’s Analytics’ Chief Economist said on October 12, as per CNBC, that the war was costing American families an average of $2,000 so far, where $1,100 comes from higher energy costs, $540 from higher interest rate costs, and $360 due to increased military spending.

Why does this money matter?

The disclosure about the rising cost of the Iran war came just a few days ahead of the US midterm elections on November 3 that will determine control of Congress for the next two years.

The November 3 polls are crucial for US President Trump's Republican Party as it wrestles with the political fallout of the unpopular conflict, inflation and rising gasoline prices.

The war's impact on global energy costs has weighed on support for Republican candidates and hurt President Donald Trump's approval ratings. Currently, Trump’s approval ratings stand at 32 percent, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Monday.

According to reports, Trump's Republican Party holds a narrow majority in both chambers of Congress.

Trump launched the Iran war jointly with Israel in February, predicting ​that the conflict would last a short time.

Trump says Iran war will end ‘when I want it to’

US President Donald Trump has reiterated his claim that the Iran war will end “whenever I want it to,” but insists that Tehran cannot have a nuclear weapon.

Speaking at a rally in Lubbock, Texas, Trump was quoted by CNBC as saying, “Somebody asked me before, ‘When will the war in Iran end?’ I said, ‘Whenever I want it to end.’”

Trump said it “would be very quick, but we have to have an end properly,” with a “total statement” that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon.

Iran war: US plans 'short but intensive' operation

In the recent past, Trump repeatedly threatened to launch renewed strikes against Iran after the US mid-term polls.

According to The New York Times, the US and Israeli militaries have developed specific plans for a "short but intensive" operation targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and missile and drone arsenal.

Citing US officials and other people briefed on the deliberations, the report said the two militaries have stepped up exercises, including flying aircraft over Iraq to practise strike manoeuvres.

According to The New York Times, the US is assembling a substantial military force expected to be fully in place by early November, including three aircraft carriers, thousands of Marines, fighter jets and Special Operations forces.

Officials cited political considerations, including Trump’s earlier pledge not to strike Iran before the midterm elections, as reasons the operation could be delayed.

US War Secretary Pete Hegseth met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel to discuss potential renewed strikes, according to the report.

The report claimed Washington was seeking to use the prospect of renewed military action as leverage in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme and control over the Strait of Hormuz.

However, Iranian negotiators have resisted making concessions on the nuclear issue, insisting that the matter be deferred until later in the talks.

Amid the possibility of renewed strikes, Iran has warned that it would respond to any renewed military action.

"The United States has the ‘Mother of All Bombs.’ We will show them the ‘Father of All Bombs,’ and it will definitely be something new for them," Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi said, according to Iranian state-affiliated media outlet Student News Network (SNN).

Iran's warning followed reports that Trump has considered using the 22,000-pound GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), known as the "Mother of All Bombs", against Iran’s deeply buried Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility.

But Tehran has not provided details about the weapon or clarified what the threat entails.

Trump's initial strategy in the Iran war focused on first using expensive, high-end precision missiles to bomb Iran's defenses so it could later use less expensive munitions, including gravity bombs like the air-launched JDAMs, which are plentiful.

But an April ceasefire gave time for Iran to dig out underground storage facilities, bringing back online some Iranian defenses, as well as missiles and drones that had been inaccessible.

Trump has since imposed a naval blockade on Iran to starve it of oil export revenue and held out the possibility of restarting combat operations after the midterm elections. US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the Pentagon has been planning to restart heavy fighting if ordered to do so.

The latest Pentagon estimate compares to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's July estimate of $37.5 billion for the cost of the war.

While the figures include a host of operational costs, from flight operations to cyber support, the US military's Iran war cost estimates did not clearly account for the massive expense expected to repair damage to US bases sustained by Iranian missile and drone attacks.