The United States war on Iran has cost the country $38bn so far, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said this week, adding that an estimated $3bn will be added every month if the conflict continues, placing strain on the country’s finances and economy.
asserted
conflict → cost → finances
The report, which was released on Tuesday, revealed that the protracted war is straining US munitions stockpiles and fuelling inflation as the Strait of Hormuz, a global oil export chokepoint, remains under Iranian blockade.
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Strait → release → blockade
The shortage of munitions poses a major security risk in the event of a new conflict.
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shortage → pose → conflict
The findings of the inquiry will likely add fuel to the wave of criticism about the six-month-old war, which the US launched alongside Israel on February 28, and which US President Donald Trump claimed would only last a few weeks.
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Trump → add → February
The conflict has rattled the global energy market and contributed to rising prices as US voters express concern about the cost of living in the run-up to the November US midterm elections.
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voters → rattle → elections
The CBO’s report also comes on Monday’s report from the Pentagon’s official watchdog about the losses the US has incurred throughout the war – including the first admission by the body of low weapons stockpiles.
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US → come → stockpiles
Here’s what we know about how the war continues to affect domestic US politics, as well as its economy.
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war → ’ → politics
What did the congressional report find?
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report → find → What
The $38bn cost cited is close to the $37.5bn shared by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a Senate hearing on July 21.
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cost → cite → July
It does not include the costs of recent US strikes on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz or of Iranian attacks on US military installations in the region.
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It → include → region
Nor does it count borrowing expenses, which could add tens of billions of dollars to the total cost.
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which → count → cost
Dwindling weapons stockpiles have made up the bulk of the costs – $25bn of weapons have been used up so far – with the budget office estimating it could take five years to restore expended US stockpiles.
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it → dwindle → stockpiles
The conflict is likely to fuel inflation, which is expected to rise by 0.5 percentage points in the first three months of 2027, said the Congress’s nonpartisan bookkeeper.
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bookkeeper → fuel → 2027
The rising cost of the war will also act as a drag on US fiscal health as the country’s national debt topped a record $40 trillion last month.
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debt → rise → trillion
The top Democrat on the US House of Representatives Budget Committee, Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, requested the inquiry into the US’s war expenditure.
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Democrat → request → expenditure
The Department of Defense did not cooperate with the inquiry, he said.
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he → cooperate → inquiry
“Donald Trump’s disastrous war in Iran has already taken the lives of brave American servicemembers and left others wounded,” Boyle said in a statement.
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Boyle → take → statement
How does this compare to the Pentagon watchdog’s report?
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this → compare → report
On Monday, a separate report by the Pentagon’s Office of the Inspector General also outlined US losses in the war – the first such public acknowledgement by US authorities.
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report → outline → authorities
That report found that the war had cost $33bn between February 28 and June 30 – with an estimated $22bn spent on expended munitions.
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war → find → munitions
In a turnabout from the Trump administration’s repeated assurances that US stockpiles of weapons remain healthy, the Pentagon admitted it is indeed running out of munitions – particularly defensive systems – and is facing “bottlenecks” in supply chains.
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it → repeat → chains
US officials have continued to publicly reject US media reports about the shortage of munitions and missile interceptors as the war, which Trump initially said would last “four to five weeks”, has entered its seventh month.
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Trump → continue → month
Trump has claimed that Washington has “virtually unlimited” ammunition.
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Washington → claim → ammunition
The White House and Pentagon disputed the findings of the CBO on munitions shortages.
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House → dispute → shortages
Monday’s Pentagon report also found that up to June 30, the war had caused $184m in damage to US facilities in the Gulf and killed at least 18 US military personnel.
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war → find → personnel
Iranian attacks, the report said, destroyed or damaged dozens of aircraft, including at least 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones.
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report → say → drones
Opposition to Trump’s war on Iran is mounting, with several Republicans joining the Democrats on Tuesday to vote for a third time to end the conflict.
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Republicans → mount → conflict
Seven House Republicans backed the resolution, including three voting in favour for the first time, joining all House Democrats who are opposed to the war.
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who → back → war
It will likely fail to pass in the Senate, where the Republicans hold a majority.
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Republicans → fail → majority
Even if it were to clear the Senate, Trump can still veto it.
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Trump → clear → it
Congress has the authority to declare war, but the president, as the commander in chief, can authorise military actions.
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president → have → actions
Trump started the war before getting approval from Congress.
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Trump → start → Congress
Past US presidents from both parties have done the same – from Democrat President Harry Truman in 1950 when sending troops to the Korean War, to Republican President Richard Nixon before the US invaded Cambodia.
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US → do → Cambodia
Just 31 percent of Americans support US military action against Iran, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll from late August, down from 37 percent in March.
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percent → support → March
How has the war impacted the US economy?
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war → impact → economy
The most salient effect of the war for everyday Americans throughout the conflict has been soaring fuel prices.
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effect → soar → prices
On Tuesday, the average price of a gallon of diesel in the US hit a new record high of $6.27 ($1.66 per litre), according to the American Automobile Association.
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price → hit → Association
US consumers paid an additional $100bn for petrol and diesel in the first six months of the war, according to a tracker from Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.
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consumers → pay → Affairs
Across the country, the added cost amounts to roughly $763 per household, based on an estimated 131 million households nationwide.
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cost → add → households
Higher fuel costs are also driving up the cost of food – with the shortages of oil and gas affecting nearly every stage of the food-supply chain.
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shortages → drive → chain
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
