Pentagon officials told senators in a classified briefing this week that the first six days of Operation Epic Fury cost American taxpayers an estimated $11.3 billion, according to a person familiar with the session.
The figure, however, omitted a range of war-related expenses, indicating the overall total is likely to rise.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., in brief remarks to reporters on Wednesday, said that he believes the $11.3 billion figure was “roughly accurate,” adding that the war’s current operation total is “significantly above that.”
A Defense Department spokesperson declined to discuss details of the closed-door meeting, but emphasized to Military Times that the exact price tag will remain unknown until the mission is complete. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday, speaking at a campaign-style event in Kentucky, declared that “we’ve won” the war. But the commander in chief continued: “We don’t want to leave early, do we? We’ve got to finish the job, right?”
Trump has been criticized in some quarters for shifting statements about the war, although the White House insists he has been consistent on four objectives: putting a nuclear weapon beyond reach, degrading Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities, inflicting severe damage on its navy and stopping it from supporting militant proxy groups in the region.
Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress have introduced a series of new war power resolutions aimed at forcing the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the operation against Iran unless it is formally authorized by lawmakers. Similar efforts have previously failed to pass in the Republican-controlled House and Senate, where GOP leaders argue that Trump acted within his constitutional authority when the U.S. and Israel launched a joint assault on Iran on Feb. 28.
U.S. Central Command said that American forces have struck roughly 6,000 targets inside Iran since the war began.
The Islamic Republic’s retaliation has largely focused either on Israel or on America’s Gulf allies – including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar – all of which host U.S. troops. Iranian strikes have killed seven American service members, and wounded approximately 140 – with eight remaining in serious condition.
Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, vowed in his first public statement on Thursday that Tehran would not waver in “avenging the blood of its martyrs.” He succeeded his slain father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli offensive.
Tanya Noury is a reporter for Military Times and Defense News, with coverage focusing on the White House and Pentagon.
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