Pentagon says the U.S. cost of the war with Iran is approaching $29 billion.

The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that the cost of the war with Iran has risen to almost $29 billion, intensifying scrutiny of President Donald Trump’s handling of the conflict and its effect on U.S. military readiness.

This amount, disclosed during a budget hearing on Capitol Hill, exceeds the Pentagon’s estimate from two weeks earlier by roughly $4 billion.

During testimony on the administration’s $1.5 trillion 2027 defence budget request, Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine and Pentagon finance chief Jules Hurst III were questioned about the war’s price tag.

“At the time of testimony… it was $25 billion,” Hurst said, referencing 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 added, citing updated “repair and replacement of equipment costs” and broader operational expenses.

Democrats and other critics have challenged the Pentagon’s calculations, arguing that the true cost—including damage inflicted by Iran—could be considerably higher.

When asked when Congress would receive a more detailed accounting, Hegseth said the administration would request “whatever we think we need” as a separate line item from the Pentagon budget, without providing a specific timeline.

The testimony came as a fragile U.S.–Iran ceasefire appeared increasingly unstable, with Trump warning on Monday that the truce was on “life support” after rejecting Tehran’s latest peace proposal.

Democrats used the hearing to criticize the administration over the escalating war costs and what they described as a lack of transparency regarding U.S. 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.

‘Lack of transparency’

Betty McCollum of Minnesota accused the Pentagon of a “consistent lack of transparency” and demanded clearer information about the administration’s strategy before Congress approves additional funding.

The war has heightened concerns about rapidly depleting U.S. weapons stockpiles after months of intensive 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.”

Democratic Senator Mark Kelly warned over the weekend that inventories of Tomahawk missiles, Patriot interceptors and other advanced weapons had been severely drawn down and could take years to replenish.

The hearings marked Hegseth’s first appearance on Capitol Hill since the White House formally notified Congress that hostilities launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28 had “terminated.”

Democrats, accusing Trump of waging war without congressional authorization, have repeatedly introduced measures to curb his war powers, only to be blocked by Republicans.

After their House appearance, Hegseth and Caine faced a second round of questioning before a Senate panel, and anti‑war protesters were present at both hearings.

In the Senate hearing, Democratic Senator Patty Murray said the administration’s cost estimate appeared “suspiciously low” because it did not account for damage to U.S. facilities, citing reports that Iran struck at least 228 structures or pieces of equipment at military sites.

Hegseth declined to provide a damage estimate but argued— as he has repeatedly since the war began — that the cost of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon would be far greater.

Trump has repeatedly claimed U.S. air strikes “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program last year, despite intelligence assessments indicating Tehran was a decade away from developing a missile capable of threatening the United States.

AFP