The US war in Iran has cost $32b so far, as Pete Hegseth defends it as ‘not a quagmire’

WASHINGTON - The United States’ war in Iran has cost US$25 billion (S$32 billion) so far, a senior Pentagon official said on April 29, providing the first official estimate of the military’s price tag for the conflict.

With just six months before midterm elections in which 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 unpopular Iran war with affordability.

Mr Jules Hurst, who is performing the duties of the comptroller, told lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee that most of that money was for munitions.

Mr Hurst did not detail what that cost estimate included and whether it took into account the projected costs of rebuilding and repairing base infrastructure in the Middle East damaged in the conflict.

Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, responded to Mr Hurst: “I’m glad you answered that question. Because we’ve been asking for a hell of a long time, and no one’s given us the number.”

The US$25 billion cost is equal to the entire budget of NASA for 2026.

But it is unclear how the Pentagon arrived at the US$25 billion amount given that a source had told Reuters in March that President Donald Trump’s administration estimated that the first six days of the war had cost the United States at least US$11.3 billion.

What would you pay?

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers that the cost was justified given the US goal of ensuring Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

“What would you pay to ensure Iran does not get a nuclear bomb? What would you pay?“ Mr Hegseth asked.

Mr Hegseth sought to defend the Iran war more broadly in fiery remarks, saying it was not a quagmire and attacking Democratic lawmakers as “feckless” for criticising the unpopular conflict.

“You call it a quagmire, handing propaganda to our enemies? Shame on you for that statement,” Mr Hegseth said in response to Representative John Raymond Garamendi, and slammed “reckless, feckless, and defeatist” Congressional Democrats.

The United States started carrying out strikes against Iran on Feb 28 and the two sides are currently maintaining a fragile ceasefire. The Pentagon has poured tens of thousands of additional forces into the Middle East, including keeping three aircraft carriers in the region.

Thirteen US troops have been killed in the conflict and hundreds wounded.

Few issues resonate with US voters more deeply than price increases, and the latest inflationary upswing is unsettling Republican insiders worried about their party’s prospects before November elections that will determine control of the House and possibly the Senate.

Disruptions in shipments of oil and natural gas since the war started have caused a run-up in US gasoline prices and agricultural products such as fertilisers, on top of the long list of other high consumer prices.

The average US gasoline price on April 28 rose to its highest level in nearly four years, according to data from the American Automobile Association.

Mr Trump’s popularity has taken a beating ​since the US and Israel launched the war against Iran.

Just 34 per cent of Americans approve of the US conflict with Iran, down from 36 per cent in mid-April and 38 per cent in mid-March, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll ⁠found. REUTERS