Washington DC [US], September 20 (ANI): The ongoing US conflict with Iran has cost the Trump Administration an estimated USD 45.1 billion, according to a Pentagon estimate provided to the US Congress on Friday, CNN reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
According to CNN, citing the sources, the latest figure includes USD 43.6 billion in war-related costs through September 3, along with an additional USD 1.5 billion for extra fuel.
However, the Pentagon's estimate does not represent a complete accounting of the financial cost of the conflict.
According to one of the sources cited by CNN, the figure does not include the cost of repairing damaged US military bases and buildings and does not provide the US Congress with a detailed assessment of indirect military-operation costs.
The latest estimate is higher than the USD 38 billion cost projected by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) through August 1 and also exceeds the Pentagon's earlier estimate of USD 37.5 billion in July.
The CBO, in its September 15 report titled Estimating the Cost of Combat Operations Against Iran, estimated that the Department of Defense had incurred approximately USD 38 billion in costs as of August 1.
The agency said the estimate covered operational, logistical and sustainment costs, including replacing expended munitions and equipment lost in battle, increased flying hours, other military operations and higher fuel costs.
The CBO cautioned that its estimate was subject to "considerable uncertainty", as it relied on government databases and public reports after the Department of Defense did not respond to its requests for information.
According to the budget office, the cost of the conflict could continue to rise depending on the intensity of fighting. It estimated that another month of conflict would cost around USD 2 billion if violence remained at levels seen in May and June, while monthly costs could reach USD 3 billion if fighting returned to approximately the intensity seen in July.
"Monthly costs could be higher still if the violence escalated further," the CBO said.
The Pentagon's latest USD 45.1 billion figure therefore comes as the financial burden of the conflict continues to increase, while several categories of potential expenditure remain outside the current estimate.
The CBO had also noted that its USD 38 billion figure did not include costs borne by other parts of the federal government or certain expenses already accounted for in the federal budget.
It also identified the large expenditure of missile-defence interceptors as a major opportunity cost for the Department of Defense, saying the spending would leave the US with a reduced inventory of interceptors for several years.
Beyond direct military spending, the conflict has also generated wider economic effects, particularly through disruptions to oil and natural-gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and shipping through the Red Sea.
According to the CBO, those disruptions have contributed to higher global energy prices, affecting crude oil as well as refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
The agency estimated that higher energy prices would put additional pressure on consumer inflation. It projected that, in the first quarter of 2027, inflation measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index would be 0.5 percentage points higher than its February 2026 projection, while core PCE inflation would be 0.3 percentage points higher.
The CBO also estimated that higher energy prices had added 2.3 percentage points to the annualised rate of overall PCE inflation in the second quarter of 2026, when PCE inflation stood at 5.3 per cent.
The economic impact could extend to US borrowing costs as well. The CBO estimated that three-month Treasury bill rates would be nearly 0.2 percentage points higher in 2026 than projected in February, while by the first half of 2027 they would be less than 0.1 percentage point higher than previously projected.
The budget office also said the US administration had requested USD 87.6 billion in supplemental appropriations in June, including USD 67.1 billion for the Department of Defense. Of that request, USD 42.3 billion appeared directly related to the conflict, according to the CBO.
At the same time, the CBO said it could not estimate potential additional costs linked to diplomatic operations and foreign aid because such expenses would depend on the outcome of the conflict and could be spread across different areas of government spending.
The latest Pentagon figure, reported by CNN, thus represents a higher cost than the earlier CBO assessment, while also leaving out some expenses associated with the broader military operation.
CNN reported that the Pentagon's latest estimate was communicated to lawmakers on Friday, with the USD 1.5 billion additional fuel expenditure bringing the total to USD 45.1 billion.
The financial assessment comes as the conflict continues to carry implications beyond the battlefield, with military expenditures, energy disruptions, shipping pressures and inflationary effects contributing to the broader economic impact identified by the CBO. (ANI)
Iran war costs surge to $45.1 billion, Pentagon tells Congress: Reports
