US War on Iran Burns $38 Billion, Drains Missile Defenses for Years — US Budget Watchdog
The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and other warships crosses the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023
The US war against Iran has already cost the Pentagon an estimated $38.1 billion through August 1, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report — and the bill is still rising. CBO says another month of fighting could cost $2–3 billion, depending on the intensity of operations.The biggest bill has been ammunition. The US spent an estimated $21.7 billion replacing munitions already fired, including $13.1 billion in missile-defense interceptors used against Iranian ballistic missiles and drones.The US has probably used “between one-half and two-thirds” of its missile-defense interceptor inventory since June 2025, with the Iran war depleting those stocks further. Rebuilding them would probably take at least five years — even if production increased, according to the report.Iran also inflicted major equipment losses. CBO puts battle losses at roughly $1.9 billion, including a $500 million THAAD radar, aircraft and drones.
The economic blowback is reaching Americans too: the conflict pushed up oil, gasoline and diesel prices and added to inflation, while higher energy costs are filtering through the wider economy.
