WASHINGTON: The United States has spent approximately $37.5 billion on military operations related to the conflict with Iran since hostilities began nearly five months ago, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
Appearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hegseth disclosed the latest estimate while discussing the Pentagon’s request for $67 billion in supplemental funding to support ongoing military operations against Iran.
“The current estimate stands at $37.5 billion,” Hegseth said when questioned about the financial cost of the conflict.
Highlighting the impact of the military campaign, Hegseth argued that Iran’s armed forces are now at their weakest level in decades. He claimed thousands of Iranian ballistic missiles have been destroyed, significantly reducing Tehran’s military capabilities.
Responding to lawmakers’ concerns over Iran’s continued ability to disrupt maritime activity in the Strait of Hormuz, Hegseth said the US had successfully facilitated the movement of between 200 million and 500 million barrels of oil through the strategic waterway despite Iranian threats.
According to Hegseth, many of those operations were conducted discreetly to ensure greater effectiveness.
“We carried out those movements quietly because it proved to be more successful than public operations,” he said, adding that US forces have maintained control over commercial shipping routes in the region for an extended period.
Hegseth also accused Iran of violating a ceasefire by launching attacks on commercial shipping, contributing to renewed tensions in one of the world’s most important energy corridors.
Addressing concerns about international support for Tehran, the defense secretary said Russia and China continue to provide varying levels of assistance to Iran. While declining to discuss specific US countermeasures, he stressed that Washington possesses multiple options to deter deeper cooperation among its strategic rivals.
Also testifying before the committee, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine cautioned that military air power alone cannot guarantee victory in a prolonged conflict.
“History has consistently shown that air power has its limitations, and that remains an important consideration in any military campaign,” Caine told lawmakers.
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