Iran War Has Cost Taxpayers $38b — And Counting

The first five months of the Iran war cost the U.S. $38 billion, according to Congress’ nonpartisan scorekeeper, the most comprehensive look at the extended military conflict ahead of the midterm elections.

The Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday that the conflict — which has cost more than half of the Trump administration’s total war spending request — would reach about $2 billion to $3 billion a month. The agency also confirmed that the war has depleted U.S. weapons stockpiles, including critical interceptors for air defenses.

The independent estimate — the latest to reflect the financial ramifications of the war on taxpayers — will likely add to the political firestorm over the conflict as November elections near.

CBO said its $38.1 billion estimate for the war, which the U.S. launched alongside Israel in February, reflects munitions and equipment, an increased rate of military operations and higher fuel prices.

The bulk of that estimate is consumed by the costs to replace missiles and air defenses, which the agency pegs at $21.7 billion — including $13.1 billion for missile interceptors, $7.3 billion for cruise missiles and $1.2 billion for other munitions.

Replacing weapons, according to the office, is “the largest single component of the costs incurred by DOD during the conflict.”

The report predicted rebuilding missile interceptors stockpiles could take, “at least five years,” giving the U.S. fewer air defense options in the event of an armed conflict with China.

"Having used a large portion of its missile defense inventory in combat operations against Iran, DOD now has fewer interceptors on hand to use in a potential conflict with [China]," the report concluded.

The multi-billion dollar monthly cost of the war will depend upon the intensity of the conflict, the report said, with low intensity operations costing roughly $2 billion and higher intensity operations costing upwards of $3 billion.

"As the conflict persists, DOD’s costs will continue to increase — slowly if the level of violence remains low and sporadic … and rapidly if the intensity of the conflict escalates,” according to the report. “Monthly costs could be higher still if the violence escalated further."

President Donald Trump requested $67 billion in supplemental funding in June to help finance the war and rebuild munitions stockpiles, with Pentagon officials warning of a budget crunch if lawmakers don’t allocate extra cash. Efforts to fast-track war funding have sputtered on Capitol Hill and likely won’t see further action until after the elections.

The Pentagon’s inspector general on Monday also detailed the immediate financial costs and impact to inventories of weapons. The Defense Department watchdog estimated in a report that operations against Iran had cost $33.4 billion as of June, with $22.3 billion of that coming from munitions.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators in a July hearing that the war had cost $37.5 billion over the first five months, similar to what the independent evaluation determined. The Pentagon chief has argued the price tag is a necessary expense to deal with the threat posed by Tehran, and publicly downplayed concerns about munitions stockpiles.

Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, requested the assessment in March, just days after the war began.

It comes less than two months before midterm elections that will be dominated by the impacts of the Iran war, including higher fuel and consumer prices. Democrats have sought to tie Republican lawmakers' support for the conflict — and the resulting higher costs — to an affordability crisis at home.

“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.”