【$11,500 to $23,000 per second for the US war against Iran】

The Intercept cited expert assessments and military spending data reporting that the cost of the US war against Iran could exceed $1 trillion. An official familiar with the US-Iran conflict admitted, "This debt will be paid by our children, and possibly even our grandchildren."

The Trump administration significantly underestimated the scale of the war against Iran, only releasing fragmented data and hiding the real costs from the American public.

On March 12, the Pentagon said that within just one week of the war against Iran, the US spent about $11.3 billion; on the 15th, Trump's economic advisor Kevin Hassett gave a similar figure: $12 billion.

However, these figures pale in comparison to those provided by military spending experts, legislators familiar with Pentagon budgets, and two anonymous government officials who know about the "Operation Flame" campaign. According to them, the war costs at least $10 to $20 billion per day - about $11,500 to $23,000 per second.

The Intercept learned from officials that the related expenses may rise to $250 billion or higher in the coming months.

Even so, compared to long-term costs, it is just a drop in the bucket: over the next few decades, the total US spending could reach trillions of dollars. An official lamented that Americans would pay the price for this war for generations.

Gabe Murphy, a political analyst at the nonpartisan budget watchdog organization "Rational Taxpayers," said, "If this war drags on for months rather than weeks, the cost will become astronomical."

Jule Hester III, the acting chief financial officer and comptroller of the Department of Defense, said at the Reagan Institute Defense Innovation Hub Summit that the initial $11.3 billion figure from the Pentagon was just a rough estimate. He said that more complete numbers will be published in the supplemental budget request, and the Pentagon plans to submit it to the White House and Congress soon.

Democratic lawmakers believe that the real number is much higher because the Pentagon's estimates do not include several expenditures, including the large-scale deployment of equipment, weapons, and personnel in the Middle East before the outbreak of the conflict. Lawmakers expect additional funding for the war against Iran to be at least $50 billion, and this is in addition to the Department of Defense's $1.5 trillion budget request for fiscal year 2027.

Eleebrih Coleby, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, told the House Armed Services Committee that the original plan for the military action against Iran was five weeks, but the president might extend it. However, he couldn't answer California Democratic Representative Sarah Jacobs' question about the cost of the war: "I can't give you an answer right now."

Neither the Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson nor the Office of the Secretary of Defense provided more details to The Intercept.

According to two anonymous government officials:

- A three-week conflict could cost taxpayers between $60 billion to $130 billion (both emphasized as preliminary estimates);

- One official said, "This is just a rough estimate."

- A five-week war could cost $175 billion;

- An eight-week total expenditure could rise to $250 billion.

One official bluntly stated, "They don't really know the real cost."

And pointed out that accounting is not the Pentagon's strength - despite efforts over nearly ten years, this self-proclaimed "Department of Defense" has never passed an audit once.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1859970629630976/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.