Pentagon officials told U.S. lawmakers at a closed briefing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that they estimated the cost of the war against Iran in the first six days alone to exceed $11.3 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter.The estimate does not include many of the costs associated with the operation, such as the construction of military hardware and personnel before the first attack. So as the Pentagon continues to calculate the costs accumulated in the first week, lawmakers expect the number to grow significantly.Still, it appears to be the most comprehensive assessment Congress has received yet, as questions grow about the war’s goals, scope and time frame. The New York Times and The Washington Post previously reported that defense officials said in recent congressional briefings that the military consumed $5.6 billion worth of ammunition in the first two days of the war.This quantity and ammunition burn rate are much greater than publicly disclosed. The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates the cost of the first 100 hours of operations at $3.7 billion, or $891.4 million per day.Weapons used in the first wave of bombings include AGM-154 glide bombs, which can cost between $578,000 and $836,000. The Navy purchased 3,000 of them nearly two decades ago. The U.S. military has since said it would switch to much lower-cost bombs such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition. The smallest size warhead sells for about $1,000, and the guidance kit costs about $38,000.Some Republicans — including Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the chairman of the Pentagon funding subcommittee — have pushed for more U.S. spending on arms production over the course of multiple administrations.But other Republicans have balked at increasing military funding and in recent days have questioned the idea of ​​approving costly supplemental funding for a conflict they fear could become endless. Democrats have expressed considerable skepticism about their willingness to support emergency funding measures for the action.
