The United States has spent $37.5 billion on its military campaign against Iran, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee on 21 July 2026, a figure that includes projected costs through the end of the fiscal year on 30 September. The estimate marks an increase of $8.5 billion from the Pentagon’s last public assessment in May. Hegseth, appearing alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, urged lawmakers to approve an additional $87.6 billion in emergency funding, of which $67.1 billion would be allocated to the Department of Defense to sustain operations, replenish munitions and maintain readiness.

Hegseth described the funding as “urgent and necessary,” warning that without it the military would face critical shortfalls, including potential cuts to training and equipment maintenance. Democratic senators challenged the request, with Senator Jeanne Shaheen noting that the Pentagon still had $75 billion in unspent funds and asking why the administration was not reallocating that money instead of seeking new appropriations. Hegseth replied that the existing funds were already designated for other presidential priorities, including the “Golden Dome for America” and hypersonic weapons.

The hearing exposed deep frustration on Capitol Hill over the absence of a defined endgame. Senator Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, accused the administration of lacking a long-term plan, telling Hegseth, “You don’t have a strategy … Win the war!” Hegseth retorted that Democrats were refusing to fund the troops, saying, “I put this on you, senator.” Republican Senator John Kennedy also demanded “hard answers and some straight talk,” pressing for clarity on whether Iran would impose fees on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that has been effectively closed since the conflict began. The committee’s top Democrat, Patty Murray, warned that the war was “spiralling out of control again” and risked becoming “another forever war.”

The conflict, launched with joint US-Israeli strikes on 28 February 2026, has killed 18 American service members and wounded approximately 430, according to figures cited during the session. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has throttled global oil shipments, with only a handful of vessels transiting the waterway in a 24-hour period earlier in the week, while Iran-backed Houthi forces have threatened a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, disrupting the Red Sea alternative route. The Pentagon’s $37.5 billion tally does not include the cost of rebuilding damaged US bases in the Middle East, which one estimate placed between $2.2 billion and $5.1 billion, nor the wider economic consequences of higher fuel prices and inflation. The administration is separately requesting a $1.5 trillion defence budget for fiscal year 2027. The supplemental funding request now moves to Congress, where its fate remains uncertain amid mounting bipartisan pressure for a clearer path to ending the war.