Hegseth puts Iran war tab at $37.5 billion and asks Congress for more
The defense secretary told senators the Pentagon needs $67 billion in supplemental funding as the conflict with Iran intensifies again.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
3 min read
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators Tuesday that the war with Iran has cost $37.5 billion so far, while asking Congress for $67 billion in extra Pentagon funding to keep military operations going in the months ahead.
The figure, delivered during a tense Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, is higher than the roughly $30 billion estimate lawmakers received earlier this month, according to NBC News.
Hegseth said his total covers payroll, operations, maintenance and other “anticipated” expenses through the end of the current budget year.
The Pentagon’s request comes on top of the $891 billion already approved to fund the Defense Department through Sept. 30. President Donald Trump is also seeking $1.5 trillion for the 2027 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, NBC News reported.
Cost questions pile up
NBC News reported earlier this month that the Defense Department’s internal estimate for the war so far is between $80 billion and $100 billion, citing three U.S. officials.
That broader internal figure includes costs tied to repairing damaged U.S. military bases, replacing destroyed aircraft and fully replenishing American weapons, according to the officials cited by NBC News.
An acting Pentagon comptroller told lawmakers that the estimate had not been updated since April and included replenishing munitions, but did not include rebuilding bases.
The public accounting has shifted as the conflict has intensified again after an April ceasefire deal collapsed. Trump has promised continued retaliation after three U.S. service members were killed recently, NBC News reported.
Iranian strikes have increased, and a U.S. naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz has helped push shipping in the critical trade route to a near standstill, according to data cited Tuesday by NBC News.
Democrats press Hegseth
Senate Democrats challenged Hegseth over the administration’s strategy, pointing to Trump’s repeated claims that the U.S. has already won the war.
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., accused the administration of asking taxpayers for open-ended funding without showing that its approach is working.
“You’re asking the American people for a blank check because, once again, the Trump administration’s efforts have been an utter and complete failure to win this war to this point,” Peters said. “So my question for you, sir, is: How is your strategy different than what we’ve seen in the past?”
Hegseth rejected that description of the war effort.
“Your characterization of this incredible effort as a failure is reckless, and I think it’s irresponsible,” he told Peters.
The hearing also highlighted a gap between Trump’s public statements and the Pentagon’s funding request. NBC News reported that Trump has said multiple times that Iran is militarily defeated, while Hegseth told lawmakers that the country still has fighting capacity.
During an exchange with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., Hegseth said Iran retains some capability, while arguing that U.S. operations have badly weakened it.
“I acknowledge they still have capabilities, no doubt,” Hegseth said. “But the amount of damage that we’ve done to them over the course of these series of operations has put them in the worst place they’ve ever been.”
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.