US war cost: $11.3 billion in first 6 days — NYT/Pentagon briefing to Congress

The opening week of the war against Iran cost the United States more than $11.3 billion, lawmakers were told in a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday, according to a New York Times report. The Times, citing unnamed sources familiar with the closed-door briefing, said the figure excludes many costs connected with the buildup to the strikes — suggesting the final tally for the first week could rise substantially. Defense officials had previously told Congress that roughly $5.6 billion worth of munitions were expended in just the first two days of fighting — a burn rate far higher than earlier public estimates. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated the first 100 hours of Operation Epic Fury cost $3.7 billion — or more than $891 million per day. Most of these costs, $3.5 billion, had not already been budgeted. The Iran War Cost Tracker website showed a figure of more than $17 billion at around 08:00 GMT Thursday. According to the site, the United States is spending $1 billion per day on the war. The $11.3 billion figure — for just six days — places Operation Epic Fury on track to become the most expensive short-duration military operation in US history. For context, the entire 2003 Iraq invasion and initial occupation cost approximately $53 billion in the first year. The burn rate reflects the unprecedented intensity of the air campaign, with CENTCOM reporting strike waves nearly every hour using expensive precision munitions including Tomahawks ($2M each), JASSMs, and GBU-57 bunker busters.