Pentagon Reports $29 Billion Spent on Iran Conflict Through Mid-May

The Pentagon has increased its estimate of spending on the Iran conflict to $29 billion as of May 12. Acting comptroller Jules “Jay” W. Hurst III provided the figure during testimony before a House Appropriations subcommittee on defence. Hurst said the increase from an earlier $25 billion estimate reflected refined calculations for repair and replacement of equipment.

He noted that a full assessment of aircraft damage remained incomplete and that costs for repairing U.S. military bases in the region were still uncertain.

Pentagon briefings to Congress showed $5.6 billion spent on munitions in the first two days of the conflict. A later briefing placed spending for the first six days at $11.3 billion. Hurst told the House Armed Services Committee on April 29 that spending had reached $25 billion after two months. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine accompanied Hurst at that hearing.

The reported spending covers weapons such as Tomahawk cruise missiles priced between $2 million and $3.6 million each, AGM-154 guided bombs at roughly $500,000 each, and Patriot missiles at $4 million each. By May 20, 1,300 Patriot missiles had been fired.

Harvard economics professor Linda Bilmes estimated daily costs between $1.5 billion and $2 billion during the first 39 days. She said larger expenses for rebuilding damaged facilities, interest on borrowed funds, and higher fuel prices remain ahead.

An Iranian government spokesperson stated in mid-April that Iran had incurred about $400 billion in direct and indirect infrastructure damage. Rystad Energy calculated $80 billion in damage to energy facilities across the Gulf. Democratic Senator Patty Murray said the Pentagon figures appeared low and called for a detailed breakdown of costs.

University of Michigan professor Justin Wolfers said the conflict’s cost to a typical American family would likely reach thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.