Odaily reported that US media outlets say the continuing military operations against Iran are placing significant pressure on the US defense budget and on key ammunition stockpiles. According to The Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter, internal estimates inside the US Department of Defense place the war and related spending near or at $80 billion. The same warnings said that if spending keeps expanding, the Pentagon could face a shortage of operating funds during the summer and would need Congress to approve emergency supplemental appropriations.
$80 billion estimate discussed between defense officials and Congress
The report said the funding gap has not yet become a formal budget request. However, it has already been mentioned in communications between senior Defense Department officials and Congress. This means the issue remains at the stage of internal estimates and policy discussions rather than a completed appropriations proposal. A former Defense Department fiscal official said early estimates were about $29 billion, but actual costs could be far higher than that level.
The pressure on the Pentagon is not limited to direct war spending. The report also points to related costs that accompany the military campaign, the pace at which budget resources are being consumed, and the question of whether Congress will need to act through emergency funding. If existing allocations cannot cover continuing expenses, the financing of these operations would have to move further into the congressional process.
THAAD and Patriot interceptor inventories are being depleted
At the same time, the conflict has also been described as a major drain on US stocks of critical munitions, including THAAD and Patriot interceptors. Several research institutions said the United States has used a sizable share of the relevant inventories. Some models can take years to replenish, creating concern over the ability of the US defense industrial base to replace key defensive munitions after sustained use.
Congress is also advancing a new round of defense authorization legislation, with the total expected to exceed $1 trillion. The bill includes several billion dollars for Israel-related defense systems and cooperative projects. Taken together, the costs of the operations against Iran, the depletion of interceptor stockpiles, funding for Israel-related defense programs, and the overall size of the defense authorization bill have kept the structure of US global military spending and resource allocation under discussion.