U.S. Department of Defense: $43 Trillion Spent So Far on Iran War

Spending Increased by 6 Trillion Won in Two Weeks

The Trump Administration reportedly spent a total of $29 billion (approximately 43 trillion won) over the 10 weeks following the start of the Iran war.

Jay Hurst, Deputy Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Defense, stated this during a budget hearing before the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Defense on May 12 (local time).

In his testimony, Inspector General Hurst said, "The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the audit team have continuously reviewed the estimates, and we currently assess the cost to be close to $29 billion."

At a House Armed Services Committee hearing on April 29, Inspector General Hurst previously put the estimated cost of the war at $25 billion. Two weeks later, the figure has increased by $4 billion (about 6 trillion won). He explained that this is due to updated costs for equipment repair and replacement, as well as general operational expenses required to maintain troops in the theater of operations.

Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who also attended the hearing, did not give a clear answer regarding whether the 'Project Freedom' operation would be resumed. Project Freedom is an operation launched on May 4 to ensure the safe passage of civilian vessels stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, but it was suspended just one day after it began.

Secretary Hegseth stated, "We will not disclose the operational options," and added, "As the President has publicly stated, the operation is temporarily suspended in light of a request from Pakistan, which is acting as a mediator, and options presented during the negotiation process. This suspension remains an option that the Commander in Chief (the U.S. President) can resume at any time, should he wish."