The cost of the U.S. war in Iran has risen to $37.5 billion so far, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday, as he faced skeptical lawmakers for the first time since the bombings restarted to seek urgent funding for the unpopular conflict.
With just six months to go before the midterm elections in which US President Donald Trump’s Republicans may face an uphill battle to retain their majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate, Democrats are leading in public opinion polls as they try to link the unpopular war with Iran to affordability.
Hegseth told lawmakers at a hearing in Washington that the US$37.5 billion included certain war elements as well as costs expected through Sept. 30.
It was not clear how the Pentagon arrived at the figure. A source told Reuters in March that the Trump administration estimated the first six days of the war cost at least $11.3 billion.
Trump asked Congress last month for nearly $90 billion in additional funding, much of it related to the Iran crisis, setting the stage for another showdown with lawmakers disillusioned by the war and facing a mid-November term.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have complained since the U.S. and Israel began attacking Iran on February 28 that Trump and his team have not kept them informed about the conflict or his plans.
