CSIS senior fellow Mark Cancian said a preliminary CSIS analysis estimates the
Iran war has cost the US Department of Defense about $40 billion, covering
munitions use, equipment losses and base damage; the figure excludes routine
combat spending already budgeted in the DoD's FY26 budget of more than $1
trillion. The analysis says other agencies, chiefly the Department of Homeland
Security and Veterans Affairs, incurred roughly $1 billion in costs. US pump
prices rise from a national average below $3/gal to above $4/gal for much of the
conflict; Brown University energy-cost tracking estimates the average household
would have spent at least $253 less without the war. Inflation outpaced average
wage growth in April and May, effectively eroding pay for the first time since
2023.
