US defence chief Hegseth puts Iran war cost at $37.5bn so far

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the war involving Iran has cost the United States $37.5bn so far, according to a monitored public feed citing the latest official US account.

The figure comes as Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine are seeking a $1.5 trillion budget, which includes $70bn for the Iran war, the feed summary said. No further details were provided in the available report about how the spending was calculated or over what period the costs were incurred.

The announcement places fresh attention on the financial scale of the conflict and the Pentagon’s broader funding request at a time of heightened military commitments. Based on the public feed summary, the latest cost estimate appears to be part of the administration’s ongoing effort to explain the wartime burden as it seeks additional resources for defence planning and operations.

The monitored feed did not include a direct quotation from Hegseth or Caine, and it was not clear from the summary whether the $37.5bn figure refers only to direct war costs or includes related military expenses. It also did not specify whether the $70bn allocation in the proposed budget is intended for current operations, replenishment, or future contingencies linked to the conflict.

Source material for this article was drawn from a monitored public feed provided by Al Jazeera Latest. As reported in that feed, the war’s cost estimate and the proposed budget request underscore the financial pressure created by the Iran conflict within the wider US defence budget.

Source: Al Jazeera Latest - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/21/hegseth-says-iran-war-has-cost-37-5bn-in-latest-official-us-account?traffic_source=rss