Price tag for Epic Fury tops $11 billion in first six days, Pentagon tells Congress

Pentagon officials told senators in a classified briefing this week that the first six days of Operation Epic Fury cost American taxpayers an estimated $11.3 billion, according to a person familiar with the session.

The figure, however, omitted a range of war-related expenses, indicating the overall total is likely to rise.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., in brief remarks to reporters on Wednesday, said that he believes the $11.3 billion figure was “roughly accurate,” adding that the war’s current operation total is “significantly above that.”

A Defense Department spokesperson declined to discuss details of the closed-door meeting, but emphasized to Military Times that the exact price tag will remain unknown until the mission is complete. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday, speaking at a campaign-style event in Kentucky, declared that “we’ve won” the war. But the commander in chief continued: “We don’t want to leave early, do we? We’ve got to finish the job, right?”

Trump has been criticized in some quarters for shifting statements about the war, although the White House insists he has been consistent on four objectives: putting a nuclear weapon beyond reach, degrading Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities, inflicting severe damage on its navy and stopping it from supporting militant proxy groups in the region.

Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress have introduced a series of new war power resolutions aimed at forcing the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the operation against Iran unless it is formally authorized by lawmakers. Similar efforts have previously failed to pass in the Republican-controlled House and Senate, where GOP leaders argue that Trump acted within his constitutional authority when the U.S. and Israel launched a joint assault on Iran on Feb. 28.

U.S. Central Command said that American forces have struck roughly 6,000 targets inside Iran since the war began.

The Islamic Republic’s retaliation has largely focused either on Israel or on America’s Gulf allies – including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar – all of which host U.S. troops. Iranian strikes have killed seven American service members , and wounded approximately 140 – with eight remaining in serious condition.

Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, vowed in his first public statement on Thursday that Tehran would not waver in “avenging the blood of its martyrs.” He succeeded his slain father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli offensive.

Tanya Noury is a reporter for Military Times and Defense News, with coverage focusing on the White House and Pentagon.

据一位熟悉会议情况的人士透露，五角大楼官员本周在向参议员们进行的一次机密简报会上表示，“史诗狂怒行动”的前六天估计花费了美国纳税人 113 亿美元。

然而，该数字遗漏了一系列与战争相关的开支，这意味着总金额可能会上升。

特拉华州民主党参议员克里斯·库恩斯周三在向记者发表的简短讲话中表示，他认为 113 亿美元的数字“大致准确”，并补充说，这场战争目前的行动总额“远远高于这个数字”。

国防部发言人拒绝透露闭门会议的细节，但向《军事时报》强调，确切的费用要等到任务完成后才能确定。白宫尚未对此置评。

周三，唐纳德·特朗普总统在肯塔基州的一场竞选式活动上发表讲话，宣称“我们已经赢得了”这场战争。但这位三军统帅接着说：“我们不想提前撤退，对吧？我们必须完成这项任务，对吗？”

尽管特朗普在某些方面对战争的言论前后矛盾，但他仍然受到一些批评。白宫坚称，他在四个目标上始终如一：使核武器无法触及、削弱伊朗的弹道导弹能力、严重打击伊朗海军以及阻止伊朗支持该地区的武装代理组织。

与此同时，国会民主党人提出了一系列新的战争权力决议，旨在迫使美军从针对伊朗的军事行动中撤军，除非获得国会正式授权。此前，类似的努力在共和党控制的众议院和参议院均未获得通过。共和党领导人辩称，特朗普在2月28日美国和以色列对伊朗发动联合军事行动时，其行为完全符合宪法授权。

美国中央司令部表示，自战争开始以来，美军已对伊朗境内约6000个目标发动了袭击。

伊朗伊斯兰共和国的报复行动主要针对以色列或美国的海湾盟友——包括沙特阿拉伯、科威特、阿联酋、巴林和卡塔尔——这些国家都驻有美军。伊朗的袭击已造成7名美军士兵死亡，约140人受伤，其中8人伤势严重。

伊朗新任最高领袖穆杰塔巴·哈梅内伊周四发表首次公开声明，誓言德黑兰在“为烈士复仇”的道路上不会动摇。他接替了被杀害的父亲阿里·哈梅内伊，后者在美以联军进攻伊朗的第一天死于空袭。

Tanya Noury 是《军事时报》和《防务新闻》的记者，她的报道主要集中在白宫和五角大楼。