Miami
U.S. congressional budget office says Iran war could cost $2 billion to $3 billion a month
A Congressional Budget Office report also estimated that the direct cost to the United States reached about $38 billion between Feb. 28 and Aug. 1. The analysis warned about munitions and equipment shortfalls if the conflict continues.
The Congressional Budget Office said the war with Iran could cost between $2 billion and $3 billion per month as long as it continues at a relatively low level of intensity. The report said monthly costs could climb during periods of back-and-forth strikes between the two countries.
The office estimated that the conflict directly cost the United States about $38 billion from Feb. 28 through Aug. 1. That total does not include repairs to U.S. bases in the region damaged during the war.
According to the CBO, most of the spending is tied to replacing munitions used in the fighting. The report put the cost of replacing those weapons through Aug. 1 at $21.7 billion, including $7.3 billion for land-attack cruise missiles, $13.1 billion for missile-defense interceptors and $1.2 billion for other munitions.
The analysis said the heavy use of interceptors leaves the United States with reduced inventories for several years. It warned that such a shortfall would be especially serious in a conflict against an adversary with large stocks of ballistic and cruise missiles, citing China in a possible Taiwan-related scenario.
The report also estimated about $1.9 billion would be needed to replace lost equipment, including a THAAD air defense radar destroyed by Iran. The CBO said that radar can cost roughly $500 million and is essential for the battery to intercept missiles. If the Pentagon were to seek supplemental appropriations to replace lost aircraft with newer versions, the equipment replacement total could rise from $1.9 billion to $3.3 billion.
The CBO said July alone cost about $3 billion after repeated exchanges of fire. In June, the Trump administration sent Congress an $87.6 billion supplemental request, including $67 billion for the Defense Department for Iran war-related needs, according to CBS News Miami.
CBS News Miami also reported that Republicans are trying to provide up to $73 billion in new war funding through the budget reconciliation process, though the House-approved blueprint to begin that process has stalled in the Senate.
The White House and the Pentagon have played down concerns about depleted stockpiles, but the CBO said the Defense Department did not respond to its requests for information. The New York Times also highlighted that limitation in the analysis. A day before the CBO report was released, the Pentagon inspector general published another report saying the Defense Department’s Office for Acquisition and Sustainment concluded that munitions use in the conflict had created strategic inventory shortfalls and exposed industrial bottlenecks in resupply.
The estimate was issued in response to a request from Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the ranking member on the House Budget Committee.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
