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US War on Iran Costs Estimated at $43.6 Billion
Confirmed
In Short: The Pentagon estimates the cost of the US war on Iran at $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 latest figure comprises $11.2 billion already obligated for operating expenses, such as fuel, combat pay, aircraft, medical care, and parts, 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 war has cost $38 billion so far, according to the CBO, and the Pentagon’s new partial estimate is close to figures publicized earlier in separate reports from the department’s inspector general and the CBO.
The conflict has also contributed to rising energy costs, with 31 percent of Americans supporting US military action against Iran, and the issue looming large as the November midterm elections approach.
The Pentagon’s latest cost estimate arrived on Capitol Hill as nearly every Senate Democrat and independent Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine were signing on to a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calling for a complete accounting of the war’s costs.
The war has cost the country $38 billion so far, with an estimated $3 billion added every month if the conflict continues, placing strain on the country’s finances and economy.
The conflict has rattled the global energy market, contributing 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 war has cost $33 billion between February 28 and June 30, with an estimated $22 billion spent on expended munitions.
What this adds
The 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.
- 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
- By comparison, the CBO said the war cost $38.1 billion through July.
- “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.
- 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.
- CBO said the portion of that request that appears to be directly related to the conflict, $42.3 billion, is about 10% larger than CBO's estimate of DoD's costs.
- “He’s shown through his time in office how incompetent he really is and it continues to damage our national security and cost American taxpayers billions of dollars,” she said.