WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- The cost of the U.S. military campaign against Iran has risen to at least 47 billion U.S. dollars, up 3.5 billion dollars from early September, local media reported Tuesday.
The latest estimate, compiled by the U.S. Central Command on Oct. 16 and provided by the Pentagon to Congress last week, includes more than 29 billion dollars to replace expended munitions such as air defense interceptors and bombs.
Nearly 12 billion dollars is obligated for incremental costs of military action and another 6.1 billion dollars to replace equipment losses, according to the estimate.
The Air Force has spent 7.6 billion dollars since the United States and Israel launched joint military attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, followed by the Army at 2.1 billion dollars and the Navy at 1.5 billion dollars.
The estimate does not include the cost of damage to U.S. military bases in the Middle East.
The Pentagon is prepared to launch new and potentially major military operations against Iran "within 96 hours of receiving" an order from U.S. President Donald Trump, CNN reported on Monday. ■