$25bn or $1 trillion: How much has Iran war really cost the US?

United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has clashed with American lawmakers over the cost of war on Iran in his first appearance on Capitol Hill since the conflict – now into its third month – broke out. The Pentagon told a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that the US had spent $25bn on its war on Iran, largely on munitions and equipment maintenance. But Democratic leaders and several economists believe that number to be a significant underestimate. They say the actual cost to the US economy and the country’s 330 million people could amount to between $630bn and $1 trillion. “The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of Congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” Hegseth lashed out at lawmakers who questioned US President Donald Trump’s handling of the conflict in the Middle East. As the US-Israel war on Iran drags on, with no agreement in sight, the Trump administration has asked for a $1.5 trillion defence budget for next year – a 42 percent increase, or the largest expansion in military spending since World War II. …