The $25 billion estimate that a top Pentagon official gave to lawmakers for the total cost to date of the US war on Iran is a lowball figure that does not include the cost of repairing extensive damage suffered by American bases in the region, three people familiar with the matter tell CNN.

One of the sources says the real cost estimate is closer to $40-50bn when accounting for the costs of rebuilding US military installations and replacing destroyed assets.

When asked by the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier today, Pentagon Chief Financial Officer Jay Hurst said the war’s cost to date is “the hardest thing to estimate right now”.

“We don’t know what our future posture is going to be, or the future construction of those bases,” he added.