Updated October 19, 2026, 8:08 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee have called on the Pentagon to publicly reveal the full cost of the war in Iran, demanding unclassified answers about the damage to U.S. bases and other military installations in the Middle East.
Five Democratic senators wrote in a letter to Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, that the Trump administration’s “continued efforts to hide the true cost of this war are outrageous and unacceptable.”
The letter, first reported by USA TODAY, asks the Pentagon to reveal an estimate of the cost of the damage, a timeline for when repairs will begin and how much it has spent adapting new facilities to account for the damage to military bases in the region.
The U.S. military estimated that the war in Iran had cost $43.6 billion as of Sept. 3, according to an update provided by Central Command to Congress’s national security committees. The cost update, however, does not take into account damage to U.S. bases and other military installations in the region that were damaged or destroyed by Iranian strikes.
“During a recent classified briefing, you provided information to the Senate Armed Services Committee on the estimated cost of damage to U.S. bases and installations,” the senators wrote. “However, this figure should not be reserved for lawmakers alone: the American people deserve to know the full cost of the Trump administration’s unauthorized war against Iran.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts addressed the letter to Cooper, which was also signed by Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Gary Peters of Michigan.
More than 50,000 U.S. military personnel have been deployed to the Central Command area of responsibility in support of the war in Iran. At least 21 American soldiers have been killed and 865 others injured since the start of the conflict.
Buildings and facilities at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan were damaged or destroyed by Iranian strikes during the war, according to a report on the war released by the Pentagon’s official watchdog.
The US military justified its decision not to disclose the estimated cost of the damage because it has not yet decided which bases and installations it would choose to rebuild.
“There is no reason to classify this cost estimate,” the senators wrote. “Our allies and adversaries are sadly acutely aware of the extraordinary toll this reckless war has taken on military readiness, and Congress and the public need this information to determine what steps are necessary to recover from this debacle.”
Naval Support Activity Bahrain, the U.S. Navy’s primary logistics hub in the Middle East, was severely damaged by an Iranian missile and drone attack early in the war. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao confirmed that the base suffered significant damage, saying in an interview that Iran “blew up Bahrain.”
The damage to the Bahrain base complicated the Navy’s efforts to resupply the USS Abraham Lincoln, contributing to deteriorating conditions for U.S. service members working and living aboard the aircraft carrier.
“This war has caused significant damage to U.S. critical infrastructure in the region,” the senators wrote. “The damage to allied bases and installations has also increased the cost of this war for our regional partners and put U.S. troops at risk.”
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