Pentagon puts Iran war cost at $47.1 billion

The Pentagon has told Congress that the cost of the Iran war to American taxpayers reached $47.1 billion as of Oct. 16, according to a U.S. Central Command estimate. The figure is about $3.5 billion higher than the roughly $43.6 billion recorded in early September. The United States and Israel launched the conflict in late February.

Roughly $29 billion of the total goes toward replacing munitions, including defensive missile interceptors for the Army's Patriot and THAAD systems. A single Patriot interceptor costs millions of dollars. The Pentagon attributes about $11.9 billion to operations and another $6 billion to equipment losses.

Service branch costs break down to $7.6 billion for the Air Force, more than $2 billion for the Army, and $1.45 billion for the Navy. The Navy figure is down from the $2.2 billion listed in early September. The Navy and U.S. Central Command referred questions about the decrease to the Pentagon, which did not respond to requests for comment.

The estimate does not include damage to U.S. bases in the Middle East. A Pentagon inspector general report released last month found that Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings at bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan.

The Pentagon's official count lists 21 service members killed and 865 wounded. Eighteen of those deaths came from Iranian strikes, combat aircraft crashes, or disposal of Iranian drones. The remainder includes deaths in medical events and other situations not directly tied to the conflict.

President Donald Trump has said new strikes on Iran remain an option after the midterms, and a third aircraft carrier plus thousands of additional troops are heading to the region. The Trump administration has also reduced staffing at some U.S. Embassies after intelligence showed Iran stepped up efforts to target American personnel.

On Capitol Hill, the Trump administration is pushing a $1.5 trillion military budget proposal and a $95 billion package that would help fund the Iran war and other priorities. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a news release that Democrats will continue working to end the conflict.