US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. (May 12, 2026)
Pentagon says cost of Iran war nearing $29 billion
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The Pentagon said Tuesday the cost of the war with Iran had climbed to nearly $29 billion, as President Donald Trump faced mounting scrutiny over the conflict and its impact on military readiness.
The new figure, revealed by the Defense Department during a budget hearing on Capitol Hill, is about $4 billion higher than the estimate offered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth two weeks ago.
Hegseth and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were testifying on a $1.5 trillion budget request for 2027 alongside Pentagon finance chief Jules Hurst III when they were asked for an update on the war's price tag.
"At the time of testimony... it was $25 billion dollars," Hurst told lawmakers, referring to Hegseth's April 29 estimate.
"But the joint staff team and the comptroller team are constantly looking at that estimate, and so now we think it's closer to 29," he said -- citing updated "repair and replacement of equipment costs" and broader operational expenses.
Pressed on when Congress would receive a fuller accounting of the war's costs, Hegseth said the administration would request "whatever we think we need" separately from the main Pentagon budget, but did not say when that supplemental request would arrive.
Democrats used the hearing to hammer the administration over both the ballooning cost of the war and what they described as a lack of transparency about US objectives.
"The question must be answered at the end -- what have we accomplished and at what cost?" asked Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.
Fellow Democrat Betty McCollum accused the Pentagon of a "consistent lack of transparency" and demanded more clarity about the administration's long-term strategy before Congress approves additional funding.
The war has intensified concerns over rapidly depleting US weapons stockpiles after months of heavy missile and air-defense operations in the Middle East.
Hegseth dismissed warnings that the conflict had dangerously drained American munitions reserves.
"The munitions issue has been foolishly and unhelpfully overstated," he said.
"We know exactly what we have. We have plenty of what we need."
