CBO puts the Iran war at 38 billion dollars through 1 August
The Congressional Budget Office said the Iran war had cost the Defense Department about 38 billion dollars through 1 August 2026, with extra monthly costs of 2-3 billion dollars if fighting continues, and PCE inflation in the first quarter of 2027 0.5 percentage points above its February projection. Al Jazeera adds that replenishing munitions could take up to five years.
Economics & Markets··Morning
The 38 billion dollars stops at 1 August and skips base repairs
The Congressional Budget Office said the Iran war had cost the Defense Department about 38 billion dollars through 1 August 2026. Extra monthly costs if the war continues are 2-3 billion dollars. It sees PCE inflation in the first quarter of 2027 0.5 percentage points above its February projection. The inflation add-on is driven largely by higher energy prices from supply disruptions. The 38 billion dollars is counted through 1 August and excludes repairs to US bases.[1]
Al Jazeera adds a five-year munitions refill
Al Jazeera, citing a CBO report released Tuesday, says the cost of the six-month war has reached 38 billion dollars and is expected to rise by 3 billion dollars per month. The war is projected to increase inflation by 0.5 percentage points in the first three months of 2027. Replenishing depleted munitions stockpiles could take up to five years. House Budget Committee Democrat Brendan Boyle, who requested the study, said the war had cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars while continuing to drive up costs.[2]
38 billion dollars is the shared CBO headline figure
Both texts print CBO's 38 billion dollars and the 0.5 point add-on to early-2027 inflation. TIME gives the figure as a 1 August cut and a 2-to-3 billion dollar monthly range; Al Jazeera rounds to six months and 3 billion dollars a month and adds five years for munitions. The exclusion of base repairs is TIME's record.[1], [2]
