The United States’ war on Iran is exacerbating inflation and depleting the country’s munitions reserves, according to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The report, released on Tuesday, stated that the six-month conflict has cost $38 billion and is projected to incur an additional $3 billion per month. The war is expected to contribute to a 0.5 percentage point increase in inflation during the first three months of 2027.
"Donald Trump’s disastrous war in Iran has already taken the lives of brave American servicemembers and left others wounded," said Brendan Boyle, a leading Democrat on the US House of Representatives Budget Committee, who commissioned the study. "Beyond that human toll, this nonpartisan CBO report makes clear that the war has also cost American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and counting, while continuing to drive up costs."
The report emerges as the Trump administration faces increasing criticism for the unpopular war, initiated by the US and Israel in February. The conflict has disrupted the global energy market and contributed to rising prices, fueling voter concerns about the cost of living ahead of the November midterm elections.
The CBO’s estimate aligns with figures provided by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in July during congressional testimony, where he put the war’s cost at $37.5 billion. Hegseth urged Congress to approve a significant increase in the US military budget, which is already the world's largest by a considerable margin.
During the heated testimony, the Pentagon chief also criticized the war's detractors, refuting claims that the conflict, which Trump initially predicted would last only a few weeks, was becoming a "quagmire."
Reports have also indicated that the war has depleted US supplies of critical munitions, straining the military's capacity to meet its obligations in other global regions. The CBO report estimates that it could take as long as five years to replenish US munitions stockpiles.
The report does not account for borrowing costs associated with the war or Iranian attacks that have impacted US military installations in the Middle East.
The Trump administration has vehemently denied reports of flagging munitions stockpiles and continues to assert that the war is justified.
"With the temporary exception of Oil, prices are coming down sharply, and Oil will drop like a rock as soon as the Military Conflict with Iran is over, and that will not be long," Trump stated on social media on Monday.
The CBO’s findings were released a day after a report compiled by inspectors general at the Pentagon, a government watchdog, detailed munitions shortages and production bottlenecks, as well as the loss of dozens of US aircraft during the war.
"We have everything required to strike at the time and place of the president’s choosing," Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in response to reports of munitions shortfalls.
