Pentagon tells Congress the Iran war cost at least US$ 11 billion in first six days

Senator Chris Coons, the leading Democrat on the defense appropriations subcommittee, revealed on Wednesday that the war in Iran has already cost about US$ 11 billion in just the first six days, based on early estimates. He mentioned to reporters, "I believe that figure is mostly accurate," while responding to a report that estimated the cost at $11.3 billion. Before his comments, CNN reported that the Pentagon informed US lawmakers in a private briefing on Tuesday that initial estimates indicated the war with Iran had a cost of at least $11 billion during the initial six days, according to two sources who were present in the meeting. CNN also reported that the US military spent over $5 billion on weapons in the first two days of the conflict. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that “we won” the war with Iran, though he did not provide strong proof for this assertion. “Let me just say we’ve won. You never want to declare victory too soon, but we won. We won in the first hour; it was over, but we won,” the president stated. Trump's statements about the duration of the war have varied. He has suggested it is ahead of schedule, that it could last four to six weeks, that we’ve “already won … but haven’t won enough,” and described the military actions as both a war and a “short excursion.” During a speech in Kentucky, he also shared how he chose the name Operation Epic Fury. “They gave me about 20 names. I was nearly falling asleep. None of them appealed to me. Then I saw Epic Fury. I said, ‘I like that name,’” he noted.