The Pentagon publicly maintains a $30 billion cost estimate for the war against Iran, but internal Defense Department assessments suggest the true cost is closer to $80 billion to $100 billion. This lower figure, presented to Congress by the OMB Director, reportedly only accounts for expended munitions. A more realistic assessment, according to NBC News, factors in the cost of rebuilding damaged American hardware and bases.This includes essential repairs to installations in Gulf states that have sustained Iranian retaliatory attacks. For example, five US Air Force refueling planes, each costing hundreds of millions, were struck and damaged at Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia. Damage to military facilities in Bahrain, home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, is already estimated at $1 billion. Installations in Kuwait have also taken significant hits.The war's ongoing nature, with five consecutive days of renewed fighting, continues to drive up the final bill. The Pentagon is currently urging Congress to approve a $68 billion supplemental funding package just to maintain operations. However, defense officials face bipartisan skepticism from lawmakers given the lack of clear objectives or an endgame for the war. Critics like Public Citizen express public frustration over the high spending on military conflicts versus domestic needs.