The U.S. military spent an estimated $33.4 billion during the first four months of its war with Iran, including more than $22 billion on munitions, according to a new Pentagon inspector general report that warns the fighting created shortages in key weapons inventories.
The Department of War Office of Inspector General released its first comprehensive report on Operation Epic Fury on Sept. 14, covering U.S. government activity through June 30. The operation began Feb. 28.
“The munitions expenditure on OEF has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply,” the inspector general report said.
Of the estimated $33.4 billion spent during the period, approximately $22.3 billion went toward munitions, according to the watchdog.
The figure does not represent the full cost of the war through September. The report covers only the first phase of the conflict through the end of June, while fighting and U.S. military operations have continued since then.
A separate Congressional Budget Office assessment reported this week that the war had cost roughly $38 billion as of Aug. 1 and projected additional costs of about $3 billion per month if operations continue at a similar pace.
The inspector general also documented extensive damage to U.S. military infrastructure and equipment across the Middle East.
Hundreds of buildings and other structures at American bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Jordan were damaged during Iranian attacks, according to the report cited by the Daily Mail.
Aircraft, drones and other military equipment were also destroyed or damaged. Associated Press reporting on the watchdog findings said Iranian strikes affected numerous U.S. aircraft and forced military officials to adjust logistics throughout the region.
The report’s warning about munitions comes amid an ongoing dispute over the condition of U.S. weapons stockpiles.
President Donald Trump has publicly rejected suggestions that the U.S. is running short on weapons.
“The United States is producing more Exquisite and Elite Weapons than at any time in our History,” Trump wrote in a recent social media post, adding that new weapons were being delivered to U.S. forces in the Middle East.
Trump has also previously described U.S. supplies as effectively unlimited, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has disputed reports suggesting serious shortages.
The inspector general’s assessment, however, specifically identified “strategic inventory shortfalls” and production bottlenecks affecting the military’s ability to quickly replace weapons used in combat, per the Daily Mail.
Among the systems facing pressure are Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, interceptors, which have been heavily used to defend U.S. and allied positions against incoming Iranian missiles.
The Pentagon has been working with defense manufacturers to expand production and replenish inventories, but some advanced missile systems can take years to manufacture in large quantities.
The inspector general report provides the clearest government accounting so far of the war’s early financial and logistical costs, but it does not include the full expense of operations after June 30 or the complete cost of repairing damaged bases and replacing destroyed equipment.
