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The Pentagon said connected Tuesday (May 12, 2026) the cost of the warfare with Iran had climbed to astir $29 billion, arsenic U.S. President Donald Trump faced mounting scrutiny implicit the struggle and its interaction connected U.S. subject readiness.
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The figure, revealed during a fund proceeding connected Capitol Hill, is astir $4 cardinal higher than the department's erstwhile estimation fixed 2 weeks ago.
Mr. Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine and Pentagon concern main Jules Hurst III were asked astir the war's terms tag during grounds connected the administration's $1.5 trillion 2027 defence fund request.
"At the clip of testimony... it was $25 billion," Mr. Hurst said, referring to Mr. Hegseth's April 29 estimate.
"But the associated unit squad and the comptroller squad are perpetually looking astatine that estimate, and truthful present we deliberation it's person to 29," helium said — citing updated "repair and replacement of instrumentality costs" and broader operational expenses.
Democrats and different critics of the warfare person questioned the Pentagon's calculations, suggesting the existent outgo — including harm inflicted by Iran — could beryllium acold higher.
Pressed connected erstwhile Congress would person a fuller accounting, Mr. Hegseth said the medication would petition "whatever we deliberation we need" separately from the Pentagon budget, without giving a timeline.
The grounds came arsenic a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire appeared progressively shaky, with Mr. Trump informing connected Monday (May 11) that the truce was connected "life support" aft rejecting Tehran's latest bid proposal.
Democrats utilized the proceeding to hammer the medication implicit the ballooning outgo of the warfare and what they described arsenic a deficiency of transparency astir U.S. objectives.
"The question indispensable beryllium answered astatine the end: what person we accomplished and astatine what cost?" asked Rosa DeLauro, the apical Democrat connected the House Appropriations Committee.
Weapons stockpiles
The proceeding marked Hegseth's archetypal quality connected Capitol Hill since the White House formally notified Congress that hostilities launched by the United States and Israel against Iran connected February 28 had "terminated."
Democrats, accusing Mr. Trump of waging warfare without legislature authorisation, person repeatedly introduced measures to curb his warfare powers, lone to beryllium blocked by Republicans.
Democratic Senator Mark Kelly warned astatine the play that inventories of Tomahawk missiles, Patriot interceptors and different precocious weapons had been severely drawn down and could instrumentality years to replenish.
But Mr. Hegseth dismissed the concerns arsenic "foolishly and unhelpfully overstated."
Mr Hegseth and Mr Caine faced a 2nd circular of questioning earlier a Senate sheet pursuing their House appearance, and anti-war protesters were contiguous astatine some hearings.
In the Senate, Democrat Patty Murray said the administration's outgo estimation appeared "suspiciously low" due to the fact that it did not relationship for harm to U.S. facilities, citing reports that Iran struck astatine slightest 228 structures oregon pieces of instrumentality astatine subject sites.
Virginia Burger, elder Defence Policy Analyst astatine the Project On Government Oversight, suggested the medication mightiness beryllium understating the war's existent outgo by "tens of billions" of dollars.
"The lone mode to cognize what the discrepancy is and what this warfare is genuinely costing taxpayers is if the Pentagon provided Congress with a elaborate breakdown of the costs," she said.
"Without seeing the numbers, we're forced to wonderment if the Pentagon is engaging successful mathematical tricks and selective inclusion to marque the authoritative outgo estimation arsenic debased arsenic possible."
Mr. Hegseth declined to supply a harm estimate, but argued -- arsenic helium has repeatedly since the warfare began -- that the outgo of Iran obtaining a atomic limb would beryllium acold greater.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly claimed U.S. aerial strikes "obliterated" Iran's atomic programme past year, contempt quality assessments indicating Tehran was a decennary distant from processing a rocket susceptible of threatening the United States.
