Iran war’s cost grows to $43.6 billion in new US military estimate
[September 19, 2026]
By BEN FINLEY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military's price tag for the Iran war has
grown to $43.6 billion as of Sept. 3, according to a new estimate
provided this week to lawmakers.
The figure from U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the
Middle East, offers the most up-to-date cost for the conflict since it
was launched by the United States and Israel on Feb. 28. A Congressional
Budget Office report released Tuesday said the war had cost $38 billion
through Aug. 1 and will continue to rack up expenses of around $3
billion a month depending on the conflict's intensity.
The new breakdown, seen by The Associated Press and reported earlier by
Bloomberg and Punchbowl News, also showed the continued use of expensive
munitions by American forces. Weapons costs jumped by more than $6
billion in just over a month, from $21.7 billion listed in the CBO
report to $28.1 billion in U.S. Central Command’s estimate.
The financial cost is just one measure of the impact of the Iran war,
which also is affecting oil prices and the stock market and has led to
deaths and injuries of American troops. The political costs will be
calculated in November's midterm congressional elections, with
Republicans facing increasing headwinds from the war's unpopularity.
The latest cost estimate has emerged as the Trump administration pushes
for a historic $1.5 trillion military budget proposal. The White House
also is asking Congress to approve a $95 billion package that would help
fund the Iran war and other priorities.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called for the budget's passage during a
speech Friday in Austin, Texas, at Saronic Technologies, which makes
drones for the Navy.
“We’re asking for $1.5 trillion in the current budget to make
generational investments to keep our country strong and sustain good,
high-paying jobs for American manufacturers like Saronic,” Hegseth said.
“We will deliver on this generational investment. We will fund this
department.”
Meanwhile, Democratic senators are demanding that Hegseth provide a full
accounting of the costs of the Iran war. In a letter to the Pentagon
chief, the lawmakers criticized the Defense Department for withholding
basic budget information from Congress and the American public even as
U.S. casualties and taxpayer costs increase.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, left, and Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, right, arrive for the POW/MIA
National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon, Friday, Sept. 18,
2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The U.S. military's one-page breakdown to Congress this week
includes costs for operating warships, planes and bases as well as
for equipment losses and medical support for troops. Casualties
tallied by the Pentagon have included 18 dead and more than 830
wounded, according to the Defense Casualty Analysis System.
The report does not include damage to U.S. bases in the Middle East,
which the Islamic Republic has attacked with ballistic missiles and
drones. A report from the Pentagon inspector general released Monday
said Iranian strikes have damaged and destroyed hundreds of
buildings and other structures at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain,
Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and
Jordan.
In the new report to Congress, the figure for munitions was by far
the largest, constituting well over half of all costs. The advanced
weapons that have been in the most demand are defensive missile
interceptors, such as those launched by the Army's Patriot and THAAD
systems.
The diminished stockpiles also have caused alarm in Europe, where
U.S. and NATO officials have told the AP that there is a “beyond
critical” shortage of missile interceptors. Saudi Arabia also is
running low on interceptors and has turned to regional and Western
allies for assistance as its standoff with Houthi rebels in Yemen
drags on.
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Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
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