As US and Israeli strikes on Iran intensify and the conflict spreads across the Middle East region, a pressing question is emerging: how much will this war cost America?
US President
Donald Trump has suggested the operation could last “four to five weeks,” while also warning the US has the capacity to go “far longer than that.”
The uncertainty over duration makes estimating the final bill difficult but early figures suggest the costs are already mounting rapidly.
With aircraft carrier strike groups deployed, missile systems activated and regional assets repositioned, military spending is accelerating.
What has the war cost so far?According to estimates cited by Turkey’s Anadolu news agency, the US may have spent roughly $779 million in the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury alone.
The pre-strike military build-up, including repositioning aircraft, deploying more than a dozen naval vessels and mobilising regional assets, is estimated to have cost an additional $630 million, Aljazeera reported.
Anadolu also reported that CENTCOM’s build-up of fighter aircraft significantly contributed to the initial costs. The deployment of F-18s, F-16s, F-22s and F-35s formed the backbone of the early strikes. Based on projected flight hours, maintenance expenses and munition usage outlined in the 2025 and 2026 US department of defense budget requests, these fighter jet sorties are estimated to have cost around $271.34 million.
Beyond frontline fighter jets, a range of specialised aircraft were involved. These included the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, A-10C Thunderbolt attack planes and MQ-9 Reaper drones, alongside the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS).
.
The daily cost of military presenceEven without active large-scale ground operations, maintaining a major US naval footprint is expensive.
The Center for New American Security estimates that operating a carrier strike group such as the USS Gerald R Ford costs roughly $6.5 million per day.
.
.
If multiple strike groups remain in the region for weeks, those daily costs quickly add up to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Air operations, missile defence interceptors, drone deployments and intelligence assets further inflate the total.
Lessons from past warsThe US war in Afghanistan, which lasted nearly 20 years, cost trillions of dollars.
According to the Associated Press (AP), Congress allocated a little over $1 trillion to the Department of Defense specifically for operations in Afghanistan. However, the overall cost of the conflict was significantly higher.
When broader war-related expenses are included, such as increases to the Pentagon’s base budget linked to the fighting, state department funding for reconstruction and security assistance, interest payments on borrowed funds, and long-term veterans’ care, the total bill has exceeded $2.3 trillion, AP reported.
Veterans’ care alone accounts for a substantial share. Disability and medical costs for post-9/11 war veterans had reached roughly $465 billion through fiscal 2022, according to AP. And the figure is expected to grow. Harvard University scholar Linda Bilmes has estimated that future medical and disability care for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars could add another $2 trillion between now and 2050.
More recent conflicts show how quickly costs accumulate. A study by Brown University’s Costs of War project found that since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, the US government has spent $21.7 billion in military aid to Israel, according to policy analyst William D. Hartung, senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute. That figure does not include tens of billions of dollars in arms sales agreements committed for future delivery.
A companion report estimated that the US has spent an additional $9.65 billion to $12.07 billion on military operations in Yemen and the wider region linked to or in support of Israeli military operations since October 7, 2023. Taken together, US spending on these post-October 7 conflicts stands at roughly $31.35 billion to $33.77 billion and counting, according to the Brown University analysis.
Energy markets and indirect costsBeyond direct military spending, there are broader economic implications.
The conflict has already rattled oil markets, with energy infrastructure in the Gulf coming under threat. Any disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant portion of global oil flows, could push oil prices higher, indirectly affecting US inflation and global growth.
Such secondary costs do not appear in Pentagon budgets but can have significant domestic economic consequences.
How long will Iran war last?Trump has framed the operation as decisive but open-ended.
“Whatever the time is, it’s okay — whatever it takes,” he said at the White House, adding that the US initially projected “four to five weeks” for the campaign but has the capability to continue longer.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has insisted the conflict will not become “endless,” saying, “This is not Iraq. This is not endless,” even as officials acknowledge more American casualties are possible in the weeks ahead.
The toll on the ground continues to rise as the fighting spreads across the region. Iran’s Red Crescent has said at least 555 people have been killed in strikes across the country, with more than 130 cities coming under attack. Israeli authorities have reported 11 deaths, while Lebanon has recorded 31 fatalities so far.
Even as leaders debate timelines, the conflict remains active and volatile. Missiles and drones are still being exchanged, and air operations are ongoing. Whether the campaign concludes within the “four to five weeks” projected by President Donald Trump or extends beyond that will depend largely on how the situation evolves.