The U.S. spent $11 billion in the first six days of the war in the Middle East.

The First Week of the War Against Iran Cost the United States Over $11.3 Billion, Pentagon Briefing Reveals

According to a congressional briefing by the Pentagon, reported by the New York Times on Wednesday, the first week of the conflict with Iran has cost the United States more than $11.3 billion.

The newspaper, citing anonymous sources present at the Tuesday briefing, noted that this figure excludes many costs related to preparations for airstrikes, suggesting that the final amount could, in fact, be much higher.

Pentagon officials previously informed Congress that approximately $5.6 billion worth of munitions was expended during the first two days of the conflict, a figure significantly higher than earlier estimates.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), an independent think tank based in Washington, estimated the costs of the first 100 hours of operations at $3.7 billion, averaging over $891 million per day.

Part of these expenses is already accounted for in the budget, but the majority, about $3.5 billion, has not been allocated, according to a study published by the CSIS on March 5.

The online platform, Iran War Cost Tracker, which calculates the real-time expenses of the war in Iran for the United States, showed a tally of over $17 billion on its counter by Thursday morning around 08:00 GMT.

According to this site, the U.S. is spending $1 billion per day. However, these estimates do not consider long-term repercussions such as veteran care or indirect costs.

The Center for American Progress (CAP), which integrates these indirect expenses into its calculations, estimated that the cost of the war exceeded $5 billion just on the fourth day of the conflict’s initiation.

“At the current pace of operations, a three-week war could easily lead to expenditures surpassing tens of billions of dollars,” cautioned the CAP.