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The United States' military campaign against Iran could ultimately cost between $80 billion and $100 billion, more than three times the Pentagon's publicly
stated estimate of around $30 billion, an NBC News report claimed, citing US officials and people familiar with internal Defence Department assessments. According to the report, the Pentagon's internal estimate factors in the cost of repairing damaged US military bases, replacing destroyed aircraft and fully replenishing American weapons stocks used during the conflict. The assessment was shared by three US officials and three people familiar with the internal calculations.
Pentagon estimates $30 billion cost for Iran war
The report comes amid growing concerns over Pentagon finances. NBC News recently reported that the US Defence Department is facing a budget shortfall after underestimating the cost of the Iran war as well as other military operations, including missions targeting drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere.
While the Pentagon has publicly maintained that the war has cost roughly $30 billion, the department has not disclosed the full projected financial impact of the conflict. According to the report, the significantly higher internal estimate includes long-term expenses tied to restoring military capabilities and infrastructure.
Neither the Pentagon nor the US administration has publicly confirmed the reported $80-100 billion estimate. However, the figures suggest the financial burden of the conflict could be substantially higher than previously acknowledged.
Meanwhile, CENTCOM on Wednesday announced that US forces had launched a second wave of strikes against Iran, saying the operation targeted Iranian military capabilities allegedly used to threaten vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesperson Brigadier General Hossein Mohammadi said that the Islamic Republic would continue its military response, asserting that Tehran's current operations were focused on US military infrastructure in the region.
Iranian authorities also alleged that a missile attack struck areas near a cancer hospital in the southwestern city of Ahvaz.
