Iran destroyed or damaged hundreds of buildings at American military bases across eight Middle Eastern countries during Operation Epic Fury, according to a bombshell Department of War Inspector General report that reveals the true scale of damage Pentagon officials had downplayed for months.
The war burned through more than $22 billion in munitions and cost taxpayers at least $33.4 billion as of June 29 — a figure that excludes the cost of repairing shattered infrastructure, meaning the real price tag is far higher.
The Pentagon admitted Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures across U.S. bases in eight countries.
That official estimate pales compared to independent analysis. Security Policy Reform Institute cofounder Stephen Semler previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation the cost likely hit $112.3 billion as of late July — comparable to U.S. military spending in World War II.
“They’re working off of a baseline cost like the regular DoD budget that was passed in early February, that combined with reconciliation funding pushed the Pentagon budget to over a trillion, which is not normal historically,” Semler said. “It’s like peak Iraq and Afghanistan wars and World War II, when spending transcended a trillion dollars in one year in inflation-adjusted terms.”
Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, warned the pattern mirrors Iraq War cost deception.
“In the Iraq War, the cost estimates initially submitted by the Bush administration were around $200 billion. That war ended up costing $5 trillion, 25 times the original estimate,” Hanke told the DCNF. “Using that multiple, if the war winds down rather quickly, we are looking at a final direct cost of the Iran war in the neighborhood of at least $1 trillion.”
The inspector general report documents roughly $184 million in damage to U.S. embassies, consulates and diplomatic facilities in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Pentagon officials had disputed earlier reporting on the extent of destruction. A military spokesman pushed back in May after satellite imagery showed at least 228 structures or pieces of equipment damaged or destroyed across 15 U.S. military sites, according to The Washington Post.
The inspector general has now formally confirmed what officials denied — Iranian strikes caused catastrophic damage across the region.
The fighting decimated U.S. weapons stockpiles. Munitions expenditures created “strategic inventory shortfalls” and exposed bottlenecks in the defense industrial base, the Pentagon’s acquisition and sustainment office told the inspector general.
America entered the war with an estimated 2,330 Patriot and 360 THAAD interceptors. By late July, fewer than 1,000 Patriots and about 250 THAADs remained, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Even if production ramps up massively, it would still take years to replenish depleted missile stocks.
Semler explained that even a flooded military-industrial complex would need years to rebuild these stocks.
“For example, the Patriot Interceptor’s current production rate is 650 per year, and the Trump administration is saying, ‘Oh well, we signed an agreement with Lockheed that they’ll ramp up production to close to 2000 per year by 2032 or something or 2030 or something like that.’ Even if that happens, it’s still going to take several years to replace these munitions because of the rate at which they were expended,” Semler told the DCNF.
The cost of rebuilding missile stocks extends beyond simply buying replacements. Lockheed Martin plans to invest roughly $8 billion to $9 billion through 2030 to build or modernize more than 20 U.S. munitions facilities, including about $900 million to $1.1 billion at its Troy, Alabama, site to nearly double production capacity. L3Harris has broken ground on two new PAC-3 propulsion facilities in Arkansas.
A significant portion of Patriot missile interceptors being produced will be sold to foreign militaries, further reducing the amount available for U.S. forces, according to the report.
The U.S. has approved the possible sale of more than 1,200 Patriot interceptors to Saudi Arabia and Qatar even as its own inventories remain strained, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency and the Federal Register. The planned foreign sales could absorb about 37% of near-term U.S. production as the Pentagon works to rebuild stocks depleted by the Iran war.
“It would require the U.S. to stop the Iran War,” Semler told the DCNF. “I mean, it’s possible, of course, for the U.S. to replace these munitions. But even if the U.S. stops fighting today and doesn’t fire another one, it would still take several years to replace these munitions.”
Dozens of American aircraft were also damaged or destroyed during the fighting.
Four F-15E fighter jets were destroyed, including three lost to friendly fire and one to enemy fire, according to the report. An F-35A was damaged by enemy fire over Iran, while seven KC-135 refueling aircraft were damaged or destroyed and as many as 30 MQ-9 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drones were lost under various circumstances.
Production constraints remain particularly acute for solid rocket motors, high-grade explosives and propellants, while the defense industry is also struggling to recruit enough skilled manufacturing workers, according to the report.
The scale of Operation Epic Fury is massive, with more than 50,000 American service members deployed throughout CENTCOM’s area of responsibility. U.S. forces flew approximately 36,000 combat sorties, carried out more than 1,800 fire missions and struck roughly 13,500 targets between Feb. 28 and April 7.
Iran and its proxies launched thousands of missiles and one-way attack drones at regional countries, commercial vessels and U.S. military targets during major combat operations. The Middle East Defense Network intercepted more than 6,000 one-way attack drones and more than 1,500 ballistic missiles aimed at U.S. and partner forces.
The attacks disrupted the Navy’s established logistics system in the Persian Gulf. Iran targeted Bahrain, previously the Navy’s primary regional logistics hub, with ballistic missiles and one-way attack drones, forcing CENTCOM to move sustainment resources to alternative locations.
Shifting some logistics support to Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia created its own problems, stretching supply lines to their limits. At least six U.S. warships were also pulled from the Pacific and re-tasked to the Middle East to support the campaign.
Seven American service members were taken from us in action and another seven in non-hostile incidents between Feb. 28 and June 30, while 417 were wounded in action during that period. Four additional service members were lost in action in July.
The wounded count has since climbed from the report’s 417 to 756 service members, according to the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System, which tracks casualties from Operation Epic Fury and subsequent overseas operations.
“Congress has, at best, the most tenuous grasp on Uncle Sam’s war of choice in Iran,” Hanke told the DCNF. “Indeed, the U.S. Congress has essentially turned a blind eye to this great misadventure. In my wildest dreams, I can’t imagine that they would look into the details related to funding the war.”
The financial strain prompted the White House to seek $67.1 billion in supplemental Pentagon funding, mostly for Operation Epic Fury, the report said, citing a June 24 White House request to Congress. The request included $21 billion for munitions and $17.3 billion for operational costs.
“I don’t see the Trump administration really changing its playbook,” Semler told the DCNF. “War-making is now a central part of its identity.”
