Foreign Relations

U.S. Watchdog Puts Iran-War Cost at $33.4 Billion, Flags Munitions Shortfalls

Published Sep 15, 2026, 4:42 AM · 33 minutes ago

Courtroom-sketch editorial illustration of a fighter jet launching from an aircraft carrier at night, with its afterburner firing beside a raised blast deflector and deck crew surrounding the aircraft.

Pentagon inspectors put Defense Department costs for Operation Epic Fury at $33.4 billion through June 29, covering the U.S.-Israeli campaign that began February 28 against Iran’s security, nuclear, missile and naval capabilities. The total includes $7.4 billion in obligations, $22.3 billion in expended munitions and $3.7 billion in equipment losses, excluding infrastructure repairs. The report identified strategic inventory shortfalls and defense-industrial bottlenecks as the Pentagon works to replenish weapons. It recorded more than 50,000 U.S. personnel in the CENTCOM region, seven killed in action, seven non-hostile deaths and 417 wounded.

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