Washington, District of Columbia, United States — The United States has spent more than $11.3 billion during the first six days of the war against Iran, according to information presented to lawmakers during a briefing at the United States Department of Defense, widely known as the Pentagon.
Okay News reports that the financial estimate was disclosed to members of the United States Congress during a closed door briefing on Tuesday, according to a report published by the American newspaper The New York Times.
The report, which cited unnamed officials familiar with the briefing, said the amount reflects only part of the total cost of the conflict so far.
Officials told lawmakers that the $11.3 billion figure does not include several expenses connected to the military buildup that occurred before the strikes were launched, meaning the overall cost of the first week of fighting could rise significantly once those figures are included.
Earlier estimates from defence officials had already indicated that the United States military used a large volume of weapons in the opening stages of the conflict.
According to reports from United States media organisations, Pentagon officials previously informed members of Congress that about $5.6 billion worth of munitions were used within the first two days of fighting alone.
This rate of spending on military equipment was far higher than earlier public projections.
The conflict, which includes a military campaign known as Operation Epic Fury, has required extensive use of advanced weapons and other military resources.
The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), an independent policy research organisation based in Washington, District of Columbia, also produced an estimate of the war’s early costs.
According to the think tank, the first 100 hours of Operation Epic Fury cost about $3.7 billion.
This represents an average daily cost of more than $891 million.
CSIS further estimated that approximately $3.5 billion of those early expenses had not previously been included in the United States government’s defence budget.
Additional estimates have also been published by the Iran War Cost Tracker, a website that attempts to measure the financial cost of the conflict in real time.
At around 08:00 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on Thursday, the tracker estimated that total United States spending on the war had already exceeded $17 billion.
According to the website, the United States is currently spending roughly $1 billion per day on the military campaign.
However, analysts warn that these figures still do not reflect the full long term cost of the war.
The Iran War Cost Tracker noted that its estimates do not include several long term financial obligations, such as healthcare and benefits for military veterans who may be affected by the conflict in the future.
As the war continues, defence analysts say the total financial cost could rise significantly depending on the duration of the conflict and the level of military resources deployed.
