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Pentagon Estimates US War on Iran Costs $43.6 Billion
Confirmed
In Short: The Pentagon estimates the US war on Iran has cost $43.6 billion, with potential monthly costs of up to $3 billion.
The Pentagon has estimated the cost of the ongoing US war on Iran at $43.6 billion, with potential monthly costs of up to $3 billion, according to a Pentagon document submitted to Congress and viewed by CQ Roll Call.
The cost estimate comes as polls show Americans increasingly oppose the war, partly over its impact on the economy, and the issue is looming large as the November midterm elections approach.
The Pentagon’s latest figure comprises $11.2 billion already obligated for operating expenses — for fuel, combat pay, aircraft, medical care, parts and the like — plus $32.4 billion in unfunded replacement costs for munitions, damaged aircraft and other assets.
The estimate does not include the cost of addressing potentially billions of dollars in damages to U.S. assets or future potential costs, which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates may be $2 billion to $3 billion a month going forward.
The CBO noted that its estimate does not cover costs associated with diplomatic operations or foreign aid, nor expenses related to military personnel killed or injured, future veterans’ health care and disability compensation or spending or future maintenance costs for military assets used in the conflict.
The conflict has rattled the global energy market and contributed to rising prices as US voters express concern about the cost of living in the run-up to the November US midterm elections.
The strikes on Kharg Island, which handles approximately 90 percent of Iran's crude exports, have further contributed to the economic strain.
The Pentagon’s new partial estimate is close to figures publicized earlier this week in separate reports from the department’s inspector general and the Congressional Budget Office, both of which cited U.S. military cost figures as the source of their estimates.
The CBO said the war is expected to contribute to inflation into the first quarter of 2027, making inflation roughly 0.5 percentage points higher than they had previously estimated.
The update also provided a breakdown of costs associated with each of the armed services. It has cost the Navy $2.2 billion to operate multiple aircraft carriers and more than 20 warships, and an additional $1.6 billion in costs have been incurred by the Army.
What this adds
The Pentagon's estimate does not include borrowing expenses, which could add tens of billions of dollars to the total cost.
What's confirmed
- The Pentagon’s latest figure comprises $11.2 billion already obligated for operating expenses — for fuel, combat pay, aircraft, medical care, parts and the like — plus $32.4 billion in unfunded replacement costs for munitions, damaged aircraft and other assets, according to a Pentagon document submitted to Congress and viewed by CQ Roll Call.
- CBO noted that its estimate does not cover costs associated with diplomatic operations or foreign aid, nor expenses related to military personnel killed or injured, future veterans’ health care and disability compensation or spending or future maintenance costs for military assets used in the conflict. [Related: Iran war has cost $38 billion and counting, CBO says ] The IG, meanwhile, put the figure at $33.4 billion.
- The department’s latest cost estimate arrived on Capitol Hill about the same time that nearly every Senate Democrat and independent Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine were signing on to a letter to Hegseth calling for a complete accounting of the war’s costs.
- The United States war on Iran has cost the country $38bn so far, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said this week, adding that an estimated $3bn will be added every month if the conflict continues, placing strain on the country’s finances and economy.
- Just 31 percent of Americans support US military action against Iran.
- Kharg Island, targeted in the strikes, handles approximately 90 per cent of Iran's crude exports, with a loading capacity of seven million barrels per day.
- CBO said the war is expected to contribute to inflation into the first quarter of 2027, making inflation roughly 0.5 percentage points higher than they had previously estimated.
What's still developing
- The $38bn cost cited is close to the $37.5bn shared by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a Senate hearing on July 21.
- “Donald Trump’s disastrous war in Iran has already taken the lives of brave American servicemembers and left others wounded,” Boyle said in a statement.
- That report found that the war had cost $33bn between February 28 and June 30 – with an estimated $22bn spent on expended munitions.
- Iranian attacks, the report said, destroyed or damaged dozens of aircraft, including at least 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones.
- Opposition to Trump’s war on Iran is mounting, with several Republicans joining the Democrats on Tuesday to vote for a third time to end the conflict.
- It does not include the costs of recent US strikes on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz or of Iranian attacks on US military installations in the region.
- Dwindling weapons stockpiles have made up the bulk of the costs – $25bn of weapons have been used up so far – with the budget office estimating it could take five years to restore expended US stockpiles.
- Any sustained damage to Kharg Island would effectively halt Iranian crude exports, currently estimated at 1.5 million to 1.8 million barrels per day, a market strategist said.
- "If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours," Centcom chief Admiral Brad Cooper said.
- The state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) outlet reported a US strike on an Iranian tanker near Kharg Island earlier on Saturday.
- Iran says the site will house a centrifuge assembly plant, but UN inspectors have not been granted full access.
- The estimate, prepared in response to a request for information from the top Democrat on the House Budget committee, Rep. Brendan Boyle, largely aligns with a previous estimate from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who pinned the costs at $37.5 billion, according to his Senate testimony.