Pentagon Says Iran War Cost $45 Billion—if You Don’t Count Everything

U.S. Central Command gave an incomplete estimate of the Iran war cost to Congress.

President Trump’s seven-month war on Iran has cost the American taxpayer $45.1 billion, according to estimates the United States Central Command gave Congress this week. They also estimate that they’ll require another $28 billion to cover the cost to replace lost munitions.

According to the CENTCOM estimate, $28.1 billion went toward replacing spent munitions, $11.2 billion went toward general operations, and $4.3 billion went to weapons and tools that were “lost.” Another $1.5 billion went toward fuel. The estimate tracks up until September 3. It does not, however, account for the massive damage to U.S. military bases in the Middle East. There was also not a more detailed breakdown of the costs.

In July, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth estimated that the Pentagon had already spent $37.5 billion on the war at that point. That total has quickly been eclipsed, and the war has no end in sight.

Literally no one voted for this war. Trump moved on his own, at the behest of the Israeli government. Now everyday Americans are paying for it, even as the vast majority disapprove of the war and how the president has handled it. And yet Republicans don’t seem to care, even as gas prices spike and midterms draw closer.

Trump Bans Three Major News Outlets From the White House

It is unclear if he has the power to do this.

Donald Trump announced Friday he was banning several of America’s most prominent national news institutions from the White House, claiming that the prohibition was the result of “FAKE NEWS.”

He specified that he would bar CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, though it is unclear if Trump actually has the power to ban their reporters from the White House grounds. It is also unclear if the ban extends to other government buildings, such as the Capitol.

“Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.”

Trump did not identify specific stories that he felt fell into that category, though earlier in the day, Trump lamented online that “CNN is so dishonest.”

“Everything they say is slanted against the Republican Party,” Trump wrote Friday morning. “They are truly FAKE NEWS!”

The news industry is an essential component of a healthy democracy. Questioning authority figures, dispelling untruths, shedding light on injustice, and disseminating verified information to the public are functions of that job in........

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