US think tank: Iran war costs US side as much as $40 billions

Golden Ten Data reported on June 22 that, according to CNN, Mark Cancian, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), stated that a preliminary analysis soon to be released by CSIS indicates the Iran war has cost the US Department of Defense approximately $40 billion. This figure covers expenses such as ammunition consumption, equipment losses, and damage to bases, but does not include the routine operational costs already accounted for in the Department of Defense’s over $1 trillion budget for the 2026 fiscal year, as he mentioned in an interview with CNN. Data also shows that while the Department of Defense bears the main expenses, the conflict has led to about $1 billion in costs for other agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs. For consumers, US gasoline prices have risen from a national average of less than $3 per gallon to over $4 during most of the war’s duration. According to energy cost tracking data from Brown University, without this war, the average US household would have spent more than $253 less. Currently, the rate of price increases has surpassed the pace of average wage growth in the US. In other words, inflation in April and May “erased” pay raises, marking the first time this has occurred since 2023.