[UPDATE] CBO estimates the Iran war cost $38 billion through Aug. 1 and will add 0.5 percentage points to inflation.
CBO puts replacing expended munitions at $21.7 billion, with ongoing operations adding up to $3 billion a month.
The Congressional Budget Office released an analysis Tuesday attributing more than a third of this year's inflation increase to naval disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. The report warned that rebuilding depleted missile-defense interceptor stocks will take at least five years even under expanded manufacturing schedules. The inventory. The findings landed a day after the Pentagon inspector general confirmed strategic inventory shortfalls, countering Donald Trump's claim that munitions were "virtually unlimited." CBO estimated U.S. forces have expended one-half to two-thirds of critical air-defense interceptors since June 2025. The data gap. The Pentagon did not respond to CBO information requests, leaving base repair costs unpriced even as the inspector general counted hundreds of damaged U.S. structures across eight Middle Eastern countries. Where it stands. Congress is weighing an emergency defense supplemental request, with funding votes postponed until the December post-election session.
PREVIOUSLY
- Sept. 14 — The Pentagon ordered defense contractors onto a wartime footing after the inspector general's first tally of the air campaign.
- Sept. 15 — The inspector general put U.S. equipment losses from Iranian strikes at $3.7 billion across eight countries, nearly 60 aircraft among them.
- Sept. 15 — Speaker Mike Johnson conceded the war is driving gas and grocery prices past the midterms.
How the CBO breaks down the replacement bill:
- Missile-defense interceptor replacement: $13.1 billion
- Land-attack cruise missile replacement: $7.3 billion
- Artillery and non-missile munitions replacement: $1.2 billion
- Combat equipment destroyed, including a $500 million THAAD radar: $1.9 billion
- U.S. airstrikes conducted against Iranian targets before April: more than 13,000