A hefty bill of $25 billion in two months of conflict: for the first time, the Pentagon shares an estimate of the cost of the war in the Middle East

For the first time since the start of the war in the Middle East, an estimate of the cost of this conflict for the United States has been shared. The significant consumption of missiles by the American forces increases the bill for the Pentagon.

The bill for the war against Iran promises to be particularly steep for the United States. Before the House of Representatives, Pentagon financial controller Jules Hurst indicated that the Americans had spent about $25 billion so far on the conflict in the Middle East. This is the first public estimate of the cost of this war, but this Pentagon official did not detail the costs to the US military.

“I’m glad you finally answered that question. We’ve been asking for it for a while, and no one has yet given us this figure,” said Democrat Adam Smith, who sits on the Armed Services Committee.

The costly reconstitution of missile stocks

American spending notably includes the numerous missiles used by its army against the Mullahs’ regime. US Central Command claims to have “hit more than 13,000 targets” across Iran during 39 days of strikes. For this, the United States has massively used long-range JASSM air-to-ground missiles or Tomahawks. According to a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CESI) published on April 21, Washington used more than 1,000 and 850 respectively in this conflict.

To defend itself against the Iranian response, the American army also called upon its air defense systems, such as the Patriot or the THAAD batteries, again using numerous expensive missiles. Replenishing stocks, a process that will take many months, will constitute a significant expense for the Pentagon, Jules Hurst warned.

Some of the United States’ expenses in this war were budgeted for, but others were not. Donald Trump has demanded from Congress a colossal increase, of around 50%, in the United States defense budget for 2027.

“This will allow us to build the dream army to which we have long aspired and, above all, which will keep us SAFE, whatever the enemy,” justified the American president.

The United States is already the country that spends the most on its military, with a continuous increase for several years. In recent weeks, the American Department of Defense has entered into several agreements and contracts to boost arms production. For example, the Pentagon signed an agreement at the end of March with Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems to quadruple the production of seeker heads for THAAD interceptors.