Iran war has cost Pentagon over $38 billion, CBO estimates
The Congressional Budget Office says the U.S. war against Iran has cost the Defense Department more than $38 billion through Aug. 1, with monthly costs of up to $3 billion or more.
The U.S. war against Iran has cost the Department of Defense more than $38 billion through Aug. 1, according to an assessment released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The CBO said the conflict will continue to cost up to $3 billion a month or more, depending on how intense the fighting becomes. The estimate was prepared in response to a request from Rep. Brendan Boyle, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.
The figure largely aligns with a previous estimate from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who put the costs at $37.5 billion in Senate testimony.
According to the CBO, the costs stem largely from replacing munitions and equipment lost in battle. The estimate does not include expenses related to U.S. military personnel killed or injured in the conflict, nor longer-term veterans' healthcare and disability compensation.
The budget office also said the war is expected to contribute to inflation into the first quarter of 2027, making inflation roughly 0.5 percentage points higher than previously estimated. That is driven largely by reduced oil and natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and disruptions to shipping through the Red Sea.
Boyle said that beyond the war's human toll, the report makes clear it has cost American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and counting while continuing to drive up costs.
"Donald Trump and Republicans have spent years telling Americans that we cannot afford to help families here at home," Boyle said in a statement, "but apparently they can find tens of billions of dollars, and potentially much more, for a reckless war that is leaving Americans to pay the price."
The findings come as voters weigh the war and high prices ahead of midterm elections that will determine control of Congress, where Republicans currently hold majorities in the House and Senate. The war, which started Feb. 28, is now in its seventh month, with no signs of a quick end to the on-off conflict.
The White House requested $87.6 billion in supplemental funding in June, largely for the war effort, but Congress has not approved it. The CBO said the portion of that request directly related to the conflict, $42.3 billion, is about 10% larger than its own estimate of Defense Department costs.
The Defense Department declined to respond to the CBO's request for information for its report, a break from norms. The budget office said it relied on government databases and public reports, and that its estimates are therefore subject to considerable uncertainty.
A Pentagon inspector general report Monday said the war has resulted in "strategic inventory shortfalls."