[News] US racks up billions in losses during first four days of war as Iran pummels key Pentagon assets

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 US racks up billions in losses during first four days of war as Iran
pummels key Pentagon assets: Report

Estimates say the Pentagon has already spent 0.1 percent of its massive
annual budget since the war started, with experts saying a three-week war
could easily cost tens of billions of dollars

News Desk <https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9> -
https://thecradle.co/articles/us-racks-up-billions-in-losses-during-first-four-days-of-war-as-iran-pummels-key-pentagon-assets-report

MAR 4, 2026
(Photo Credit: X)

Iran's retaliatory strikes on US assets in the Persian Gulf have caused at
least $2 billion in losses for Washington since the start of the war
against the Islamic Republic, *Anadolu Agency*
<https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-lost-nearly-2b-worth-of-military-equipment-in-first-4-days-of-strikes-against-iran/3849091>
reported on 4 March.

Almost fifty percent of the losses result from Iran's destruction of a US
AN/FPS-132 early warning radar system at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which
is worth $1.1 billion.

The Islamic Republic also took responsibility for shooting down
<https://www.wionews.com/world/kuwait-f-a-18-hornet-downed-3-american-f-15-jets-claims-new-report-what-we-know-about-friendly-fire-amid-iran-war-1772596069678>
three F-15E Strike Eagles over Kuwait on Sunday, an incident US Central
Command (CENTCOM) claims was caused by “friendly fire” from Kuwaiti forces.
The estimated cost to replace the jets is $282 million.

Attacks by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Forces (IRGC) also caused
heavy damage to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Manama, Bahrain,
destroying two satellite communications terminals and several large
buildings.

“Using open-source intelligence reports, the targeted SATCOM terminals were
identified as AN/GSC-52Bs, which approximately cost $20 million, factoring
in deployment and installation costs," *Anadolu Agency* reports.

Tehran has also reported destroying the AN/TPY-2 radar component of
Washington's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) air-defense system
deployed at Al-Ruwais Industrial City in the UAE, estimated to be worth
$500 million.

“Combining these costs, Iran has damaged $1.902 billion worth of US
military assets in the region,” the Turkish news agency says.

On top of these losses, Washington spent at least $2.3 billion
<https://iran-cost-ticker.com/> during the first four days of the war,
which was launched without congressional approval by using post-9/11
emergency laws.

The first 24 hours of the so-called "Operation Epic Fury" alone cost
around $779
million
<https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-trump-administrations-reckless-war-in-iran-has-already-cost-more-than-5-billion/>,
including pre-strike mobilization expenses of $630 million.

“At the current scale of operations, a three-week war could easily exceed
tens of billions of dollars in expenses,” the Center for American Progress
(CAP) estimated on Tuesday.

The US public policy research and advocacy organization also emphasized
that “a conservative estimate for the initial costs of Operation Epic Fury
is more than $5 billion as of March 2—and the campaign is just getting
started.”

More losses still need to be accounted for, as the IRGC and its regional
allies have targeted at least seven US military sites across West Asia
since the start of the war, destroying several US diplomatic missions and
intelligence sites belonging to the CIA and Mossad.
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