The six-month-old U.S.
war against Iran has cost $38 billion so far and that amount is projected to rise by $3 billion a month, Congress’ nonpartisan bookkeeper reported on Tuesday, as the Trump administration searches for ways to end the conflict and reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz.
The war is expected to increase inflation by 0.5% in the first three months of 2027, according to the Congressional Budget Office accounting, which totaled expenses through August 1.
The mounting costs have strained U.S.
munitions stockpiles and driven up energy prices, raising concerns about the country’s ability to respond to other potential conflicts and adding pressure on an already stretched federal budget.
The cost was close to the $37.5 billion that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reported at a Senate hearing on July 21.
The budget office said the majority of the costs stem from the rapid drawdown of munitions, estimating that it could take five years to replenish U.S.
stockpiles.
Reuters reported in August that the U.S.
had used “virtually all” of its long-range precision missiles during the war.
The Department of Defense did not cooperate with congressional financial auditors, CBO reported.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly described President Donald Trump’s attacks on Iran as “decisive action” to prevent Tehran from harming U.S.
personnel or interests.
She said in a statement that the U.S.
military has “more than enough munitions, ammo, and stockpiles to serve all of the Commander-in-Chief’s strategic goals and beyond.” Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell disputed the report’s findings of munitions shortages and said, “We have everything required to strike at the time and place of the president’s choosing.” The cost inquiry was conducted at the request of the top Democrat on the U.S.
House of Representatives Budget Committee, Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania.
“Donald Trump’s disastrous war in Iran has already taken the lives of brave American servicemembers and left others wounded,” Boyle....
