The United States spent about USD 5.6 billion on weapons in the first two days of its military strikes on Iran, according to a report by The Washington Post.
The estimate, shared with members of the US Congress, covers only the cost of munitions used in the opening phase of the operation. It does not include the wider expenses of deploying troops, aircraft or naval forces in the region.
The report has triggered fresh concern in Washington about how long the US can sustain such an intense military campaign.
US officials told The Washington Post that the Pentagon used roughly $5.6 billion worth of advanced weapons during the first 48 hours of the assault. Thousands of strikes have been carried out across Iran since the operation began.
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Fears over shrinking US weapons stocks
Lawmakers are now worried that the pace of the operation could quickly eat into America’s stock of high-end weapons.
According to the report, US stockpiles are already under pressure after years of supplying arms to Ukraine and maintaining military commitments in Asia.
To support the operation in West Asia, some military assets have been moved from other regions. Parts of a THAAD missile defence system were shifted from South Korea to the Middle East. The Pentagon has also used Patriot interceptor missiles to defend against Iranian drones and ballistic missiles.
Defence analyst Mark Cancian warned that such moves carry risks.
“The more THAADs and Patriots you shoot, the more risk you assume in the Indo-Pacific and in Ukraine,” he said, as per The Washington Post.
Responding to The Washington Post‘s enquiries regarding the status of national stockpiles, Pentagon’s chief spokesman Sean Parnell, however, said that the department has “everything it needs to execute any mission at the time and place of the President’s choosing and on any timeline.”
Trump warns Iran over Hormuz oil route
The report came as US President Donald Trump issued a warning to Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil shipping routes.
“If Iran does anything that stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America twenty times harder than they have been hit thus far,” Trump said on Truth Social.
He said any such response would target locations that could be “easily destroyed”.
Meanwhile, media reports citing US officials said seven American service members have died since the conflict began.