The Congressional Budget Office estimates the war in Iran has cost the US at least $38 billion and severely depleted its defensive missile stockpiles, in a report landing weeks before the midterm elections.
Key facts
- The CBO estimates the war in Iran has cost the US at least $38 billion.
- Costs are estimated to grow by $3 billion per month.
- Depleted defensive missile stockpiles could take five years to rebuild.
- The Pentagon's inspector general put total spending at $33.4 billion, including $22.3 billion on munitions through June 30.
- The report arrives less than two months before the midterm elections.
The war in Iran has cost the United States at least $38 billion and left its stockpile of defensive missiles so depleted it could take five years to rebuild, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has found, according to reports from CNBC and the Guardian.
The Guardian reported that the CBO estimated the cost of the war would continue to grow by $3 billion per month. The findings were described as a damaging report arriving less than two months before midterm elections, in which the war and the cost of living crisis are expected to hurt Republicans at the polls.
The economic report came one day after the Pentagon’s inspector general released its own first review of the war. According to the Guardian, that review said the US spent $22.3 billion on munitions alone through 30 June.
The inspector general put total spending at $33.4 billion and found that the fighting had “resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply,” the Guardian reported.
Taken together, the two reports point to both the financial scale of the conflict and the strain it has placed on the US military’s supply of munitions. The CBO’s estimate that stockpiles could take five years to rebuild underscores concerns about how quickly the industrial base can resupply spent weapons.
The timing of the reports adds a political dimension, landing in the weeks before voters head to the polls in the midterm elections, with the war and the cost of living cited as issues likely to weigh on Republican candidates.
Why it matters
The reports reveal both the mounting financial cost of the war in Iran and a significant depletion of US defensive missile stockpiles that could take years to replenish. With the findings landing just weeks before the midterm elections, they carry political weight for a general reader concerned about spending, security and the cost of living.
Frequently asked questions
How much has the war in Iran cost the US?
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the war has cost the US at least $38 billion, with costs growing by roughly $3 billion per month. The Pentagon's inspector general put total spending at $33.4 billion, including $22.3 billion on munitions through June 30.
How long will it take to rebuild the missile stockpiles?
The CBO found the US stockpile of defensive missiles is so depleted it could take five years to rebuild.
Why do these reports matter politically?
According to the Guardian, the reports arrive less than two months before midterm elections, where the war and the cost of living crisis are expected to hurt Republicans at the polls.