From bravado to busted bases: Hidden cost of US-Iran war revealed

TOI correspondent from Washington: The war that Iran was supposed to lose in days if not hours has now lasted more than six months and is costing America billions – $33.4 billion to be precise. A Pentagon report and startling new photos of wreckage at US bases in the region are beginning to tell a story that official communiques have masked.The Pentagon Inspector General’s first congressionally mandated review of “Operation Epic Fury” puts the US cost as of June 29 at $33.4 billion: $22.3 billion in expended munitions, $7.4 billion in additional operating costs, and $3.7 billion in equipment losses.The losses include dozens of aircraft and drones -- wreckage of some of which have been graphically captured in a trove of photographs obtained by CBS News from anonymous on-field personnel.