The Pentagon says the cost of the Iran war is $29 billion, higher than the $25 billion price tag it presented to Congress two weeks ago. But the conflict will ultimately cost U.S. taxpayers at least $1 trillion, according to one war budget expert.
On Tuesday, a senior Pentagon official said the new costs of the conflict would include operational costs, as well as modern repairs and replacements for equipment.
CNN previously reported that the initial estimate of $25 billion was a low number that did not include the cost of repairing damage to US military bases in the Middle East.
Linda Birmes, a public policy expert at the Harvard Kennedy School, predicts that a conflict with Iran will cost American taxpayers at least $1 trillion.
In an April online post, Birmes categorized costs into short-term costs and medium- to long-term costs.
Short-term costs include munitions (missiles, bombs, interceptors), maintaining a two- to three-ship carrier strike group, maintaining personnel and combat pay, and the loss or destruction of assets such as fighter jets and drones. She points out that replacement costs are often higher than the historical value of the inventory. For example, a Tomahawk missile has an inventory value of $2 million, but would currently cost up to $3.5 million to replace. The medium- and long-term costs of the war include repairing facilities over the next four to five years, replenishing inventories with high-tech weapons systems, and caring for the 55,000 U.S. military veterans in potentially exposed areas.
Added to this is the impact on the global economy of rising energy prices due to ongoing conflicts. The U.S. Department of Energy now says oil prices are likely to exceed $100 per barrel in the coming weeks, and some analysts are warning that the national average for gasoline at the pump could eventually reach $5 per gallon.
