What is Operation Epic Fury?: Operation Epic Fury (originally Operation Roaring Lion) is a joint US-Israeli air campaign against Iran launched on 28 February 2026. It has struck more than 7,000 targets in Iran across three weeks, costing an estimated $19 billion, making it the most expensive sustained US air campaign since the 2003 Iraq invasion.Source: CENTCOM / CSIS
How much has Operation Epic Fury cost so far?: The Center for Strategic and International Studies calculated the first 100 hours at $3.7 billion ($3.5 billion unbudgeted), rising to approximately $900 million per day. By week three, the estimated total reached $19 billion. Neither the White House nor the Pentagon has requested supplemental funding from Congress.Source: CSIS
How many US troops have died in the Iran war?: Eight US service members have died during Operation Epic Fury: seven from combat or combat wounds and one from a health-related incident in Kuwait. The first three were confirmed killed on 1 March 2026.Source: CENTCOM
Did the US use AI to pick targets in Iran?: More than 120 Democratic representatives asked Defence Secretary Hegseth whether the Maven Smart System identified the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab as a target. The Washington Post reported the US target list may have misidentified the school for a nearby military site due to outdated intelligence processed through automated systems.Source: US House / Washington Post
How does Operation Epic Fury compare to the 2003 Iraq invasion costs?: Operation Epic Fury reached an estimated $19 billion in three weeks at roughly $900 million per day. The 2003 Iraq invasion cost approximately $53 billion in its first year. The daily burn rate for Epic Fury is roughly twice that of the Iraq invasion at its peak.Source: CSIS

Background

The 28 February 2026 joint US-Israeli air campaign opened a new conflict against Iran, distinct from the June 2025 Twelve-Day War in which Operation Rising Lion (Israel) and Operation Midnight Hammer (US) had already destroyed or disabled Natanz, Esfahan, and Fordow. By the time Roaring Lion launched, those nuclear sites had been non-operational for eight months. The 2026 campaign struck Natanz and Esfahan access points in March 2026 as access-denial strikes on already-ruined facilities; the IAEA confirmed "some recent damage" but "no additional impact" on the underground enrichment halls themselves. Fordow was not retargeted: US bunker-busters had rendered it inoperable in June 2025 and there was nothing left to hit.

The campaign's actual first-wave targets were IRGC military leadership, air-defence networks, missile infrastructure, and administrative Tehran, not nuclear sites. CENTCOM confirmed more than 7,000 targets struck by 19 March. The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated the first 100 hours at $3.7 billion, rising to roughly $900 million per day by week three and an estimated $19 billion with no supplemental Congressional funding requested. New target sets in late March included the Yazd uranium processing facility, the Khondab heavy-water complex, and the Parchin-area Talkan site used for weapons development.

The campaign's stated objectives shifted without formal declaration, from neutralising Iran's nuclear programme to signalling Regime change. Netanyahu conceded on 11 March he could not guarantee the latter. Congress authorised no war powers; Senator Mark Warner publicly contested the intelligence justification. The attribution error in early briefings (structural nuclear damage assigned to the 2026 strikes) arose because the primary destruction had occurred nine months earlier under Operation Rising Lion and Operation Midnight Hammer, both part of the Twelve-Day War (June 2025).

Source Material

International Institute for Strategic Studies Center for Strategic and International Studies Reuters — Middle East US Central Command — Official Statements