Top Trump adviser says cost of Iran war so far at $12bn Conflict News

Pressure on the US president’s administration will mount as the cost of the war spirals and the mission’s end game remains unclear.

Trump’s top economic adviser said the United States has spent $12 billion on its war against Iran since launching joint strikes with Israel on February 28, amid growing domestic concerns about the growing economic impact of the Middle East conflict.

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, presented the figure on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, saying he had been briefed so far.

He was forced to clarify mid-interview after initially appearing to present the interview as a projected sum for the entire war. CBS anchor Margaret Brennan noted that more than $5 billion was spent on munitions in the first week, something Hassett did not directly address.

However, Hassett dismissed the economic threat of war to the US. Financial markets pricing future energy contracts, which are already anticipating a rapid resolution and sharply lower fuel prices, countered consumer warnings in the US about rising fuel costs at petrol stations.

Markets remained sluggish following Iranian threats to the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil supply passes.

He argued that any disruption to Gulf shipping would harm countries that depend on the region’s oil more than the US.

“America will not hurt its economy because the Iranians are doing it,” he said, adding that unlike in the 1970s, the US is now a major producer. “We have lots and lots of oil.”

‘Mission Creep’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, meanwhile, has warned that Iran’s bombing campaign is “going to escalate dramatically,” suggesting the bill is headed in the same direction.

Confusion over costs is accompanied by deep uncertainty about the purpose of the war.

The Trump administration’s stated war goals have ranged from dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, to dismantling its missiles, to now threatening its oil infrastructure on the Strait of Hormuz.

After a classified Senate briefing in early March, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was “really concerned about mission creep,” calling the session “very unsatisfactory” and saying the administration had given “different answers every day” about why the strikes were ordered.

Last week, Senator Chris Van Hollen told Al Jazeera that the US had “taken the lid off Pandora’s box with no idea where it will land”.

At least 1,444 people have been killed in Iran since the attacks began on February 28. Thirteen US soldiers were killed and more than 140 were wounded. Fighting has also spread to Lebanon and Gulf countries continue to face repeated drone and strikes from Iran.

Some countries, such as India, have begun bypassing Washington to negotiate directly with Tehran on securing safe passage for its tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.