Trump's Iran war has now cost more than $47bn, a quarter above Hegseth's estimate, as the midterms loom
Trump told a Texas rally the US is "making an absolute fortune" from the conflict — even as Moody's Analytics estimates the war has cost the average American household $2,000.A US Air Force E-3 Sentry surveillance aircraft at Prince Sultan Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia, destroyed in September, amid Pentagon estimates that damage to American bases is excluded from the $47.1 billion war bill.
Trump's Iran war has burned through $47.1 billion as of mid-October — more than 25 percent above the $37.5 billion estimate Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Congress just three months ago, and the true bill is likely higher still because base-repair costs are excluded. The Pentagon has not published the figures publicly, and the latest data was leaked just six days before the November 3 midterms.
Munitions alone account for over $29 billion, depleting global stocks of Patriot interceptors and raiding US military commands in Asia and Europe.
Trump insists the war will end 'whenever I want it to end,' but has reportedly warned Iran privately that he may launch a fresh offensive — dubbed 'Epic Fury' — unless Tehran agrees a deal after the midterms.
Joe Rogan, who endorsed Trump in 2024, has now turned on the president, telling his podcast: 'We're at a war with Iran — that wasn't real.'
