The opening week of the war against Iran cost the United States more than $11.3 billion, lawmakers were told in a Pentagon briefing, according to a New York Times report underscoring the pace at which the conflict is consuming weapons and resources.
News men, citing unnamed sources familiar with Tuesday’s closed-door briefing, said members of Congress were told that the figure excludes many costs connected with the buildup to the strikes — suggesting the final tally for the first week could rise substantially.
Defence officials had previously told Congress that roughly $5.6 billion worth of munitions were expended in just the first two days of fighting, according to US media a burn rate far higher than earlier public estimates.
The Centre for Strategic and International Studies, an independent think tank in Washington, estimated that the first 100 hours of Operation Epic Fury cost $3.7 billion or more than $891 million per day.
