Pentagon Reports $45.1 Billion Price Tag for War with Iran in Update to Congress

F/A-18 Super Hornets stand ready for launch on the flight deck of U.S. Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington, en route to support U.S. military operations in the war with Iran, while operating in the Indian Ocean August 18, 2026.

The U.S. war with Iran has cost $45.1 billion, the Pentagon informed Congress on Friday, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The department told lawmakers that war costs were $43.6 billion as of September 3 plus an additional $1.5 billion for extra fuel, the sources added.

The estimate is not a full accounting of the war’s cost, however. It does not include an assessment of the cost to repair damaged bases or buildings and did not provide Congress with detailed breakdowns of indirect costs of military operations as lawmakers have asked for, one source said.

The $45.1 billion cost estimate from the Pentagon surpasses the $38 billion price tag the Congressional Budget Office projected the war cost through August 1, and comes after the Pentagon estimated $37.5 billion as the bill for the war in July. The estimate from the budget office also did not include the cost to repair U.S. facilities damaged during the war, with most of the price tag coming from munitions expenditures, the office said.

The CBO estimated the war will continue to cost the U.S. approximately $2 billion to $3 billion per month past August 1, with higher costs estimated during periods of escalated fighting. The office also told Congress that the war is expected to increase inflation for the first quarter of 2027, raising costs at a time Americans are growing more concerned about the economy.