Pentagon officials told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that the war against Iran has already cost more than $11.3 billion in the first six days, The New York Times reported, citing three sources familiar with the meeting.
The NYT further reported that this figure does not include additional expenses such as the deployment of troops and military equipment before the initial strikes. In addition, lawmakers expect total costs to rise significantly in the first week as the Pentagon continues to count all related expenses.
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Earlier reports from The New York Times and The Washington Post indicated that the US military spent $5.6 billion worth of ammunition in the first two days of the conflict with Iran, according to defense officials at recent congressional briefings.
The New York Times reported that the initial wave of strikes used weapons such as the AGM-154 cruise bomb, which costs between $578,000 and $836,000 per unit.
The Navy purchased 3,000 of these bombs nearly 20 years ago. Since then, the US military has reportedly moved to cheaper munitions such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), where the smallest warhead costs about $1,000 and a guidance kit adds about $38,000, the NYT reported.
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Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump, facing volatile global markets and declining ratings since starting war with Iran, has oscillated between demanding “unconditional surrender” and signaling a willingness to accept an outcome in which Iran simply replaces one hardline ayatollah with another, the AP reported.
Variable statements from Trump and his top aides have added to the uncertainty of the 12-day-old conflict, which has affected nearly every part of the Middle East and sent economic shockwaves around the world. With neither side giving up, the war is taking an unpredictable course and a clear end remains in sight, the AP reported.
Making the case to the Americans
According to an Associated Press report, Trump faced challenges to convince Americans that his pre-emptive action against Iran was necessary and consistent with his commitment to avoid “perpetual wars” over the past 20 years. The conflict has so far left seven US soldiers dead and around 140 injured in Iranian retaliatory strikes.
One of Trump’s explanations for launching the war was that he had a “feeling” that Iran was preparing to attack the U.S. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt modified this slightly, saying the president’s feeling was “based on fact”.
But Pentagon officials privately told congressional staff that there was no intelligence to suggest Iran was planning a pre-emptive strike against the US, the AP reported.
Recent polls suggest that Trump’s action has not produced the typical rally-around-the-flag effect seen at the start of past US wars. In a CNN poll, about 60% of US adults said they trust Trump “a lot” or “not at all” to make the right decisions about the use of US force in Iran.
Denying responsibility for the school bombing
A bomb attack on a girls’ school in southern Iran killed at least 165 people on the first day of the conflict. US President Donald Trump initially blamed Iran, saying its security forces were “very inaccurate” with munitions.
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However, on Monday, after Bellingcat released verified video showing a US Tomahawk missile hitting a Revolutionary Guards facility near the school, Trump claimed Iran could still be to blame, but said he would accept the conclusions of the US investigation.
Trump also incorrectly suggested that Tehran had access to Tomahawk missiles, which are made in the US and are available only to the United States and a few close allies.
Iran’s health ministry said on March 8 that more than 1,200 people had been killed in the conflict, including roughly 200 women and 200 children under the age of 12, while more than 10,000 civilians had been injured, AFP reported.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on March 10 that at least 1,787 people had died, including 1,262 civilians, including at least 200 children, as well as 190 soldiers and 335 others whose status was not disclosed, AFP reported.
(With input from agencies)
