Wars 2026 02/28 Israel-Iran War 3.0

[Saif]

US war in Iran has cost $25b so far: Pentagon official

The United States' war in Iran has cost $25 billion so far, a senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday, providing the first official estimate of the military's price tag for the conflict.

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US war in Iran has cost $25b so far: Pentagon official
Reuters
Washington

A cleric walks near a residential building damaged by a strike on March 4, in Tehran, Iran, 14 April 2026.

A cleric walks near a residential building damaged by a strike on March 4, in Tehran, Iran, 14 April 2026.Reuters
The United States' war in Iran has cost $25 billion so far, a senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday, providing the first official estimate of the military's price tag for the conflict.

With just six months before mid-term elections in which Trump's Republicans may face an uphill battle to keep their House majority, Democrats are riding high in public opinion polls as they attempt to link the unpopular Iran war with affordability.

Jules Hurst, who is performing the duties of the comptroller, told lawmakers on the ⁠House Armed Services Committee that most of that money was for munitions.

Hurst did not detail what that cost estimate included and whether it took into account the projected costs of rebuilding and repairing base infrastructure in the Middle East damaged in the conflict.

Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, responded to Hurst: "I'm glad you answered that question. Because we've been asking for a hell of a long time, and no one's given us the number."

The United States started carrying out strikes against Iran ⁠on Feb.28 and the two sides are currently maintaining a fragile ceasefire. The Pentagon has poured tens of thousands of additional forces into the Middle East, including keeping three aircraft carriers in the region.

Thirteen U.S. troops have been killed in the conflict and hundreds wounded.

Disruptions in shipments of ⁠oil and natural gas since the war started have caused a run-up in U.S. gasoline prices and agricultural products such as fertilizers, on top of the long list of other high consumer ⁠prices.

Trump's popularity has taken a beating since the U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28 that has led to a surge in gasoline ⁠prices.

Just 34 per cent of Americans approve of the U.S. conflict with Iran, down from 36 per cent in mid-April and 38% in mid-March, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found.​

 

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Iran war could push 30m people into poverty: UN

The US-Israeli war on Iran, which has sent the price of energy and fertiliser soaring, could plunge more than 30 million people into poverty, the head of the UN Development Programme said Wednesday. "It's development in reverse," Alexander De Croo told AFP on the sidelines of a G7 development...

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Iran war could push 30m people into poverty: UN

AFP
Paris, France
Published: 29 Apr 2026, 20: 49

The United Nations File photo

The US-Israeli war on Iran, which has sent the price of energy and fertiliser soaring, could plunge more than 30 million people into poverty, the head of the UN Development Programme said Wednesday.

"It's development in reverse," Alexander De Croo told AFP on the sidelines of a G7 development meeting in Paris.

"It took decades to build stable societies, to develop local economies, and it took only several weeks of war to destroy that," he added.

"We did a study after six weeks of war and estimated that even if the conflict ended at that point, 32 million people would be pushed into precarity in 160 countries," said De Croo.

The war has led to closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world''s oil and liquefied natural gas flows in peacetime.

Gulf nations are also important for many oil products and feedstocks to make fertiliser.

A shortage of supplies and high prices has led to countries in Africa and Asia imposing a range of measures that include fuel rationing and shortening the work week to reduce consumption. Other countries have reduced fuel taxes to cushion the impact on consumers.

The UNDP says the war will have a profound impact on Sub-Saharan African countries as well as certain countries in Asia such as Bangladesh and Cambodia.

Developing island nations will also be particularly hard hit.

High "energy costs, a lack of fertiliser, will have an enormous impact in the months to come" on people in these countries, said De Croo, a former prime minister of Belgium.

He also warned of "political instability and a drop in remittances from abroad because a lot of people working in the Gulf countries send money home".

To avoid poverty taking hold, the UNDP estimates that around $6bn "is needed in subsidies to support those most vulnerable to high food and energy prices", he added.

De Croo said discussions were already underway within the IMF and World Bank.

"You can say that six billion dollars is a lot -- the war cost nine billion dollars per week," he added.

The crisis comes as development aid is at a historic low, having dropped by more than 23 percent last year, primarily due to cuts by major donors led by the United States.​