Ammon News - The Pentagon burned through $5.6 billion worth of munitions during the first two days of its military assault on Iran, three U.S. officials told Washington Post, a figure that underscores the deepening alarm among some on Capitol Hill over the speed at which U.S. forces have eaten into the scarce supply of America’s most advanced weaponry.

The estimate, shared with Congress on Monday, raises new questions about the Trump administration’s broad dismissal of lawmakers’ concerns that the Iran operation is quickly eroding the U.S. military’s readiness.

Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, issued a statement saying that the Defense Department has “everything it needs to execute any mission at the time and place of the President’s choosing and on any timeline.”

It’s unclear how long the war could last. President Donald Trump said last week that the operation could take more than a month, though on Monday he told CBS News that it is “very complete, pretty much,” citing Iran’s significant military losses.

The $5.6 billion figure highlights how costly the strikes were before that transition began, said the officials, who like some others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive estimate. They did not specify how many and what kinds of munitions were expended in the war’s opening days.

The Post has previously reported that the military has fired hundreds of precision weapons since the start of hostilities on Feb. 28, including advanced air defense interceptors and Tomahawk cruise missiles. U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations throughout the Middle East, has said that more than 5,000 targets have been hit in Iran using more than 2,000 munitions.

The Pentagon is moving parts of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system from South Korea to the Middle East, according to two officials. The military also is drawing from its supply of sophisticated Patriot interceptors in the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere to bolster its defense against Iran’s drone and ballistic missile attacks, these people said.