War

How Much Has the Iran War Actually Cost? A Lot More Than $25 Billion.

Direct military costs have exceeded $70 billion by one estimate, and Americans have paid more than $37 billion in higher energy costs since the war began.

Eric Boehm | 5.11.2026 12:20 PM

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The Trump administration says the first two months of America's war with Iran cost taxpayers about $25 billion—but the real price tag for this undeclared, illegal war is much, much higher.

That official estimate was offered to members of Congress at an April 29 hearing, when acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst III said we were "spending about $25 billion on Operation Epic Fury." He later elaborated that this number "reflects the munitions that have been spent to date and other operational costs." In other words, it accounts for only the direct military costs of the conflict: the bombs dropped, missiles launched, and equipment destroyed.

That estimate is already nearly two weeks old, but it remains the administration's most straightforward answer to one of the many open questions about the conflict. It also, obviously, leaves a lot out.

A better estimate comes from Stephen Semler, a journalist who co-founded the Security Policy Reform Institute. In a Substack post last........

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