US war in Iran has cost $36.9 billion so far: Pentagon
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US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth (right) alongside comptroller Jules Hurst during a hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington on April 30.
PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON – The US’ war in Iran has cost US$29 billion (S$36.9 billion) so far, a senior Pentagon official said on May 12, an increase of US$4 billion from an estimate provided in late April.
With just six months before the mid-term elections, in which US President Donald Trump’s Republicans may face an uphill battle to keep their House majority, Democrats are riding high in public opinion polls as they attempt to link the war to cost-of-living issues.
On April 29, the Pentagon said the war at that point had cost US$25 billion.
Mr Jules Hurst, who is performing the duties of the comptroller, told lawmakers on May 12 that the new cost included updated repair and replacement of equipment and operational costs.
“The joint staff team and the comptroller team are constantly looking at that estimate,” he said.
He was speaking alongside Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine.
It is unclear how the Pentagon arrived at the US$29 billion figure. A source told Reuters in March that the Trump administration estimated that the first six days of the war had cost at least US$11.3 billion. REUTERS
