US is vulnerable to Iranian pressure, spending billions of dollars every day on war

The situation in the Middle East is becoming more complicated due to the ongoing military campaign by the US and Israel surrounding Iran. At the same time, intense debate has started in the political arena of Washington due to the huge expenditure on waging the war.

The US Department of Defense Pentagon has not yet released an official estimate of the total cost of this campaign. However, according to various media and congressional sources, the ongoing campaign against Iran may cost an average of about 1 billion to 2 billion dollars every day.

In this context, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of Congress has strongly criticized President Donald Trump. He said that while the US is under pressure to control the prices of healthcare and daily goods, huge money is being spent on another long-term war in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Brendan Boyle, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, has requested a detailed analysis from the US Congressional Budget Office to determine the actual cost of the war. He wanted to know what kind of impact this conflict could have on the US economy, including fuel prices.

An analysis by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said that the United States spent about $3.7 billion in the first 100 hours of the war. Much of this was spent on replacing military ammunition and equipment.

The US military presence in the Middle East has also increased significantly from an operational perspective. According to open data, more than 120 fighter jets have been deployed since February. These include the state-of-the-art F-35 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor fighter jets.

In addition, two carrier strike groups and numerous cargo planes have been deployed. Operating and maintaining these forces requires a huge amount of fuel and manpower, which directly puts additional pressure on the US military budget.

According to defense analysts, in addition to the financial costs, the rapid depletion of the US interceptor missile stockpile has become a major concern. Since each interceptor missile used to counter Iranian drones and missiles costs several million dollars, the cost of the war is rising rapidly.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned that the intensity of bombing and fighter jet flights in Iran may increase in the coming days. The Pentagon has already prepared a supplementary budget proposal of about $50 billion to buy back lost weapons and equipment, which will be sent to Congress for approval.

According to analysts, this huge war spending and political debate could also have a major impact on the politics of the upcoming US elections.

Source: Al Jazeera