Pentagon says Iran war cost climbs to nearly $29 billion

The Pentagon's estimated cost for the Iran war has risen to nearly $29 billion, a top finance official told lawmakers Tuesday, a $4 billion increase over the figure cited just two weeks prior.

The revised figure arrived as Congress scrutinizes a record $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget and Democrats intensify demands for war-cost accountability in a conflict they say was never properly authorized.

Jules Hurst III, the Pentagon's finance chief, told lawmakers the estimate had risen from $25 billion — the figure Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cited on April 29 — after his team's ongoing reassessment. "At the time of testimony ... it was $25 billion dollars. But the joint staff team and the comptroller team are constantly looking at that estimate, and so now we think it's closer to 29," Hurst said, according to The Korea Times.

The disclosure came during congressional testimony on the Pentagon's $1.5 trillion budget request for fiscal year 2027. President Donald Trump warned Monday the U.S.-Iran ceasefire was on "life support" after rejecting Tehran's peace proposal, casting fresh doubt on the conflict's trajectory.

Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, pressed officials for a reckoning on the war's value. "The question must be answered at the end — what have we accomplished and at what cost?" DeLauro said. Rep. Betty McCollum accused the department of a "consistent lack of transparency" in its disclosures to Congress.

Sen. Mark Kelly warned that Tomahawk missiles and Patriot interceptors had been severely drawn down and could take years to replenish. Hegseth pushed back sharply. "The munitions issue has been foolishly and unhelpfully overstated. We know exactly what we have. We have plenty of what we need," the defense secretary said.

The Pentagon formally notified Congress that hostilities were "terminated" after Feb. 28. Democrats have disputed whether the conflict was ever lawfully authorized under the War Powers Act.

The administration has not detailed a timeline for restocking depleted weapons inventories. Congressional Democrats have called for a comprehensive accounting of the war's costs and strategic outcomes before advancing additional defense appropriations.