US war in Iran has cost around $29bn, Pentagon says

The Pentagon told Congress on May 12 that the U.S. war in Iran has cost around $29 billion, an increase from the $25 billion estimate reported by Reuters on April 29.

The figure came up during a House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Gen. Dan Caine and acting Comptroller Jules W. Hurst III. Lawmakers used the hearing to continue pressing Pentagon officials on the financial and strategic toll of the conflict.

The new estimate adds another layer of scrutiny to a war that is still unfolding across the region. AP and other reporting also described renewed Israeli evacuation orders in southern Lebanon and continuing strikes tied to the wider conflict.

The Pentagon did not immediately provide further public detail in the research materials about how the revised total was calculated, but the updated figure marks a noticeable increase from the late-April estimate.

What changed

On April 29, Reuters reported that a Pentagon official had put the war’s cost at $25 billion so far. By May 12, the estimate had risen to about $29 billion in congressional testimony.

That shift underscores how quickly the financial burden of the conflict is growing as operations continue and lawmakers seek more information about the scope of U.S. involvement.

What lawmakers are focused on

The hearing placed Pentagon leaders under renewed questioning about the war’s cost, its duration and the broader military commitments attached to the Middle East crisis.

For now, the clearest confirmed development is the updated cost figure itself: around $29 billion, as presented to Congress on May 12.