Kathmandu. The war with Iran has cost the US more than $47 billion. According to the latest estimates of the US Department of Defense (Pentagon), it will cost more than 35 billion dollars just to replenish the stocks of weapons used in the war and to replace the lost military equipment.
According to information released by Reuters on Tuesday, the cost of the war has increased by more than 25 percent from the $37.5 billion estimated in July. The figures obtained by Reuters include the cost of war operations and the cost of replacing used weapons and lost military equipment.
According to Pentagon estimates, it will cost more than $29 billion to buy back the missiles and other weapons used in the war. Similarly, more than $6 billion will be needed to replace military equipment including aircraft and drones lost in the war. These sums are details of expenditures included in the overall war cost of more than $47 billion. However, US real spending appears likely to rise further.
The Pentagon’s latest estimates clearly do not include the huge cost of repairing damage to US military bases caused by Iranian missile and drone strikes. US President Donald Trump started a war with Israel last February against Iran. Although the war was initially expected to end in a short period of time, its costs are increasing.
In the early stages of the war, the US used expensive and accurate missiles to weaken Iran’s defense systems. Then he made a strategy to continue the attack using relatively cheap weapons. But after a cease-fire in April, Iran has reactivated some of its underground storage of missiles, drones and defense systems, according to Reuters.
Since the cease-fire, Trump has imposed a maritime embargo to block Iran’s oil export earnings. He also left open the possibility that a major military operation could begin again after the US mid-term elections on November 3.
According to US officials, the Pentagon is preparing to re-intensify the war if ordered. The rising costs of the war also created pressure on American politics.
The mid-term elections on November 3 will determine who will control both houses of Parliament for the next two years. Currently, the majority of the Republican Party in both chambers is slim. According to Reuters, energy prices on the world market have increased due to the war, which has affected the Republican candidates.
Along with the increase in energy prices, Trump’s popularity has also been affected. In this situation, the increasing cost of war has become a political challenge as well as an economic one for the Trump administration.