The Pentagon puts the cost of the Iran war at $47.1 billion, with 21 American dead and 865 wounded

The bill for the war in Iran has passed 47 billion dollars, and the Pentagon gave Congress the number in the last week before the midterm elections.

Central Command put the cost at 47.1 billion dollars as of October 16, in an estimate USA Today obtained. Reuters, working from Pentagon data, put the figure at more than 47 billion and more than 25 percent above the Defense Department estimate in July. The latest Central Command figure is 3.5 billion dollars higher than its previous update. Both accounts say the total leaves out damage to American bases and facilities across the Middle East that Iranian strikes hit, so the full cost runs higher than the number Congress received.

Most of the money goes to replacing what the war has burned through. The Pentagon has spent more than 29 billion dollars to replace expended munitions, air defense interceptors and bombs among them, and 6.1 billion dollars on equipment replacement, including aircraft and the many drones lost in the fighting. The Air Force has spent 7.6 billion dollars since the fighting began, the most of any service, against 2.1 billion for the Army and 1.5 billion for the Navy. USA Today reported that the military has used roughly 65 percent of its Patriot interceptor stockpile, and that the spending has left shortages of some munitions the country would need in a fight in the Pacific.

The human cost sits in the same report. At least 21 American service members have died and 865 have been wounded since February 28, according to the military casualty database, as of October 28. More than 50,000 American troops have deployed to the Central Command region during the war.

The United States and Israel opened the war with joint strikes on Iran on February 28, aiming to cripple the Iranian state. President Trump predicted a war of a few weeks. It has run nearly eight months. An April ceasefire let Iran dig out buried storage sites and bring missiles, drones and air defenses back into use, Reuters reported. Trump has since put a naval blockade on Iran to cut its oil revenue and has held out the possibility of restarting heavy combat after the November 3 elections. American officials told Reuters the Pentagon is planning for renewed heavy fighting if the president orders it.

The cost lands on an election already shaped by the war. Gas prices have climbed through the conflict, and Reuters reported that the war and its effect on energy costs have weighed on Republican candidates and on the president approval ratings one week before voters decide control of Congress.