The United States' war in the Middle East has cost US$25 billion ($35 billion) so far, a senior Pentagon official said, providing the first official estimate of the military's price tag for the conflict.
With just six months before midterm elections in which US President Donald Trump's Republicans may face an uphill battle to keep their majority in the House of Representatives, Democrats are riding high in public opinion polls as they attempt to link the unpopular Iran war with affordability.
Jules Hurst, who is performing the duties of the Pentagon comptroller, told congresspeople on the House Armed Services Committee that most of that money was for munitions.
Hurst did not detail what that cost estimate included and whether it took into account the projected costs of rebuilding and repairing base infrastructure in the Middle East damaged in the conflict.
Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, responded to Hurst: "I'm glad you answered that question. Because we've been asking for a hell of a long time, and no one's given us the number."
The $25 billion cost is equal to the entire budget of NASA for this year.
But it is unclear how the Pentagon arrived at the $25 billion amount given that a source had told Reuters last month that the Trump administration estimated that the first six days of the war had cost the United States at least US$11.3 billion ($15.8 billion).
Defense secretary defends war
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth repeatedly clashed with congressional Democrats over the Iran war on Wednesday, in his first testimony to Congress since Trump launched the conflict two months ago.
Appearing before the House Armed Services Committee, Hegseth quickly struck a combative tone, saying in his opening remarks that the main challenge at this point is the "defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans."
He told lawmakers that the cost was justified given the US goal of ensuring Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.
"What would you pay to ensure Iran does not get a nuclear bomb? What would you pay?" Hegseth asked.
Smith took aim at the regional fallout from the war and its toll on both US troops as well as civilians, saying he wanted answers on where the conflict is going and "the plan to achieve our objectives".
Representative John Garamendi, another Democrat, accused Hegseth of "lying to the American public about this war from day one," describing events in the Middle East as a "geopolitical calamity, a strategic blunder, resulting in worldwide economic crisis".
"Critical munitions have been expended at an alarming rate, depleting magazine levels below what is thought necessary to hold China at bay," said Garamendi, also describing the conflict as a "quagmire".
Hegseth sought to defend the war more broadly in fiery remarks, saying it was not a quagmire and attacking Democratic lawmakers as "feckless and defeatist" for criticising the unpopular conflict.
Midterms loom amid affordability crunch
The US and Israel started carrying out strikes against Iran on 28 February and the two sides are currently maintaining a fragile ceasefire.
The Pentagon has poured tens of thousands of additional forces into the Middle East, including keeping three aircraft carriers in the region.
Thirteen US troops have been killed in the conflict and hundreds wounded.
Few issues resonate with US voters more deeply than price increases, and the latest inflationary upswing is unsettling Republican insiders worried about their party's prospects before November midterm elections that will determine control of the House and possibly the Senate.
Disruptions in shipments of oil and natural gas since the war started have caused a run-up in US gasoline prices and agricultural products such as fertilisers, on top of the long list of other high consumer prices.
The average US gasoline price on Tuesday rose to its highest level in nearly four years, according to data from the American Automobile Association.
Trump's popularity has taken a beating since the US and Israel launched the war against Iran, which spread into neighbouring nations.
Just 34 per cent of Americans approve of the US conflict with Iran, down from 36 per cent in mid-April and 38 per cent in mid-March, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
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