A new U.S. Central Command estimate places military costs from the Iran war at $43.6 billion through Sept. 3, with replacement munitions accounting for $28.1 billion as Congress weighs additional defense spending and presses the Pentagon for a fuller accounting.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.

The estimated U.S. military cost of the war with Iran has climbed to $43.6 billion, with the replacement of expended weapons now accounting for nearly two-thirds of the Pentagon’s latest calculation.

U.S. Central Command provided the Sept. 3 estimate to congressional national security committees this week, offering lawmakers the military’s newest accounting of a conflict that began Feb. 28. The total includes approximately $28.1 billion for replacing munitions, $11.2 billion in operational and related costs and about $4.3 billion for equipment losses, according to accounts of the CENTCOM assessment.

The $43.6 billion figure represents a substantial increase from the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate of approximately $38 billion through Aug. 1. The nonpartisan CBO said continued operations could add roughly $2 billion to $3 billion each month, depending on the intensity of the fighting.

Weapons expenditures have increased particularly rapidly.

CBO had estimated $21.7 billion in costs associated with expended munitions through Aug. 1. CENTCOM’s newer calculation places the replacement cost at $28.1 billion as of Sept. 3, an increase of more than $6 billion in slightly more than a month.

The figures underscore the volume and expense of sophisticated weapons consumed during more than six months of combat, particularly defensive interceptors used against Iranian ballistic missiles and drones. Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, interceptors have been among the weapons facing sustained demand during the conflict.

The latest military estimate does not capture every potential cost to the United States.

CENTCOM’s calculation excludes the full expense of repairing or replacing infrastructure damaged at American bases across the Middle East, meaning the eventual financial impact could rise substantially beyond the current $43.6 billion figure.

Iranian missile and drone attacks have damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and other structures at U.S. installations in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan, according to a Defense Department inspector general report released this week. U.S. diplomatic facilities in several countries also sustained damage.

Those attacks have occurred as American forces have sustained casualties throughout the conflict.

Pentagon figures cited in the latest reporting list 18 U.S. service members killed and more than 830 wounded. More than 50,000 American troops have been deployed to the Middle East during the conflict, according to congressional correspondence seeking additional information from the Defense Department.

The expanding cost estimate comes as the Trump administration and Congress consider significantly higher military spending.

The administration is seeking a $1.5 trillion defense budget, while lawmakers have also been considering a roughly $95 billion package containing military funding and other priorities, including resources associated with the Iran conflict.

An earlier White House supplemental request totaled approximately $87.6 billion, with about $67 billion designated for the Pentagon. That defense portion included $21 billion for munitions, $17.3 billion for operational costs and additional funding for drones, readiness and classified programs.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pressed the case for increased defense spending Friday during an appearance at Saronic Technologies in Austin, Texas. The company develops autonomous systems and drones for the Navy.

“We’re asking for $1.5 trillion in the current budget to make generational investments to keep our country strong and sustain good, high-paying jobs for American manufacturers like Saronic,” Hegseth said. “We will deliver on this generational investment. We will fund this department.”

At the same time, Democratic senators have demanded substantially more information from the Pentagon about what the war has already cost and what additional expenses may be coming.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., led 45 colleagues in a letter to Hegseth requesting a detailed accounting of direct and indirect expenses connected to military operations against Iran, including damage to bases, aircraft and other equipment. The senators also asked the Pentagon to explain how supplemental funding would be divided between costs already incurred, future operations and spending unrelated to the war.

The lawmakers criticized the Defense Department for what they described as insufficient budget information at a time when both casualties and financial costs were increasing. The request asks the Pentagon to provide additional information by Sept. 30.

The CBO’s independent analysis also highlighted uncertainty surrounding the total because the Defense Department did not provide the budget office with all of the information it requested.

CBO calculated its $38 billion estimate using available information on munitions replacement, equipment losses, increased flying hours, fuel and other operational expenses. The agency said its estimate does not include every broader federal cost arising from the conflict.

The war has also placed pressure on U.S. weapons inventories.

A Pentagon inspector general assessment found that combat with Iran had produced “strategic inventory shortfalls” in some categories of munitions and exposed limitations in the defense industrial base’s ability to replace certain weapons quickly.

Missile-defense interceptors have drawn particular attention because the United States and its allies have used large numbers of them against Iranian missiles and drones.

U.S. and NATO officials have described shortages of some interceptors available for European defense as “beyond critical,” according to Associated Press reporting. Saudi Arabia has also faced declining interceptor inventories while simultaneously confronting threats from Houthi forces in Yemen, prompting efforts to obtain additional assistance from regional and Western partners.

The financial consequences of the conflict extend beyond direct Pentagon spending.

Disruptions to energy transportation and instability in and around the Strait of Hormuz have affected oil markets, fuel costs and broader economic conditions. CBO has separately examined the potential economic and budgetary consequences resulting from changes in energy supplies and prices.

The war has also become a subject of congressional debate ahead of November’s midterm elections. Lawmakers have argued over war powers, military strategy, spending and whether continued operations should require further congressional authorization. On Sept. 15, the House approved another war powers resolution intended to halt U.S. military involvement, with Democrats and several Republicans supporting the measure.

The latest CENTCOM estimate nevertheless focuses on the direct military costs accumulated through Sept. 3 rather than those wider economic or political effects.

At $28.1 billion, munitions replacement remains by far the largest component of the military’s $43.6 billion calculation. Equipment losses account for approximately $4.3 billion, while operating warships, aircraft, bases and supporting deployed forces make up much of the remaining cost.

Those figures could continue to change as assessments of damaged equipment and installations are completed and as military operations continue. CBO has estimated that another month of fighting could add as much as approximately $3 billion under more intensive combat conditions, meaning the Sept. 3 CENTCOM figure is a snapshot rather than a final accounting of the war’s cost.

Original article