The U.S.-Iran war has cost approximately $37.5 billion so far, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday. That figure is up nearly $8 billion from the estimate given in May, when a Pentagon official testified the war had cost about $29 billion at that point.
Two Democratic sources and a third source familiar with the matter told CBS News they believe the actual cost is much higher, in part because the current estimate does not include costs like military construction for U.S. bases that have been damaged.
Hegseth appeared before the committee alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. Together they detailed a supplemental funding request of $67 billion to help cover the cost of the Iran conflict and replenish military supplies. The White House had separately asked Congress in April for $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon over the next fiscal year, an amount that would raise American military spending to an all-time high in the modern era.
The hearing came after three U.S. soldiers were believed to have been killed in an Iranian attack in Jordan on Friday, and a fourth service member died in Iraq during a controlled explosion to destroy an Iranian drone. Those deaths bring the total number of service members killed since the war began in February to 18. Nearly 100 American service members have been injured in multiple Iranian strikes on bases across the Middle East this month, officials told CBS News.
Committee chairwoman Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine recognized the fallen service members as the hearing opened, saying they had "made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our nation."
The hearing was interrupted several times by anti-war protesters, with some shouting "stop bombing our children in Iran and Palestine." After being interrupted, Hegseth continued with his funding request, warning of consequences if Congress did not act.
"Without these funds, we face critical shortfalls that threaten our ability to also simply pay our service members, rapidly replenish equipment and munitions, and sustain vital operations without disruption," Hegseth said.
Hegseth also said military training would have to be curtailed unless lawmakers approved the funding boost. He repeatedly blamed the Biden administration for what he described as an underfunded military. The most senior Democrat on the committee, Sen. Patty Murray, pushed back on the request, saying it "does not make a lot of sense" and accused the Trump administration of attempting to "skirt the normal appropriations process."
The U.S. carried out an 11th consecutive day of strikes on Iranian military infrastructure on Tuesday. Iran has continued retaliating with strikes against the U.S. and its allies in the region. Iran has also struck several commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, bringing a shaky ceasefire between the two countries to an end.
