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Pentagon officials on Tuesday told legislators during a closed-door briefing that they estimated that the cost of the Iran war was more than $11.3 billion during the initial six days of the conflict, the New York Times reported, citing three unnamed individuals familiar with the briefing.
That estimate did not encompass many expenses tied to the effort, such as buildup of military assets and personnel prior to the first strikes, the outlet added.
Other reports indicate that the briefing involved senators.
A Senate Armed Services Committee staffer, who noted that he could only speak for the minority staff and Ranking Member Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., referred Fox News Digital to a March 10 letter that the senator sent to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, pressing for information about the costs of the war.
US DESTROYS AGING IRANIAN WARPLANES, VIDEO SHOWS
Smoke and flames rise at the site of airstrikes on an oil depot in Tehran on March 7, 2026. (Sasan / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)
"Since the initial strikes on February 28, 2026, how much has the Department spent on these operations? How much are the daily costs of these operations? What are the costs to readiness? How much funding does the Department need to replenish munitions and aircraft combat losses?" Reed asked in part of the letter.
No comment was provided by the GOP side of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Fox News Digital also reached out to the Department of War and the House Armed Services Committee Republican communications office on Thursday.
An Iranian flag is planted in the rubble of a police station, damaged in airstrikes yesterday, on March 3, 2026, in Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
The war-related outlays come as the ever-expanding U.S. national debt nears the $39 trillion mark.
And while President Donald Trump has been waging the costly war in conjunction with Israel, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, Americans have been seeing a significant surge in gas prices at home.
Cars drive down a highway as smoke billows after overnight airstrikes on oil depots on March 8, 2026, in Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
"The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stoping [sic] an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World. I won’t ever let that happen!" Trump said in a Thursday Truth Social post.
Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.
