The conflict with Iran is already costing the United States and its allies billions of dollars in military spending, and analysts say the expenses could rise significantly.
Estimates from several think tanks cited by CNN suggest the war is currently costing around $891.4 million per day, as US forces deploy aircraft carriers, fighter jets, bombers and ground troops throughout the region.
However, the overall cost extends far beyond military hardware and operations. The conflict is beginning to affect the global economy, driving up oil prices, disrupting airline and shipping routes, and increasing the cost of transporting goods worldwide.
With no clear resolution in sight, experts warn that the economic and financial burden of the war could escalate rapidly.
“This is highly unpredictable and so we won’t know the cost of it until it’s over,” Lindsay Koshgarian, programME director of the National Priorities Project at the Institute of Policy Studies, told CNN.
“The cost of the war in Iraq ended up being almost $3 trillion,” she said. “So this could, this could be astronomical, easily.”
Direct cost of war
The daily costs of military operations are already staggering.
A report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimates the war is costing around $891.4 million per day based on the Pentagon’s publicly known operations.
The biggest expenses come from the deployment of air and naval forces.
Air operations alone are estimated to cost about $30 million per day, while naval operations cost roughly $15 million daily. Ground operations add another $1.6 million each day.
Some of the most expensive assets include:
Air assets
Tanker and cargo aircraft: $9 million per day
Carrier air wing: $5 million
Non-stealth fighters: $5 million
Stealth fighters: $5 million
Naval assets
Aircraft carrier: $6 million per day
Destroyer: $5 million
Ground assets
Artillery brigade: $1 million
National Guard battalion: less than $1 million
The scale of spending has already eclipsed previous operations targeting Iran.
According to CSIS, the first 100 hours of the current war cost about $3.7 billion.
By comparison, the US operation known as Operation Midnight Hammer, which targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025, cost between $2.04 billion and $2.26 billion, according to the Costs of War project at Brown University.
That strike lasted only about two and a half hours.
How expensive could the war become?
The total cost will depend largely on how long the conflict lasts and whether it escalates further.
Kent Smetters, faculty director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, told CNN that a wo-month war could cost between $40 billion and $95 billion, depending on the intensity of fighting and whether the United States deploys ground forces.
Oil prices and energy markets
The economic shock from the war is being felt far beyond the battlefield.
One of Iran’s most powerful strategic tools is its ability to disrupt global energy markets.
Oil prices surged to nearly $120 a barrel after the conflict began before easing to around $90, according to market data cited by the Associated Press.
The surge reflects fears that the war could disrupt energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that carries roughly 20% of global oil and natural gas supplies.
Any sustained disruption to this route could trigger further spikes in fuel prices worldwide.
Ultimately, the real cost of the war with Iran may be measured not only by military spending but also by its wider economic impact.
Higher fuel prices, disrupted trade routes and declining travel demand could slow global economic growth, fuel inflation and place additional pressure on government finances worldwide.
Analysts say the conflict is increasingly becoming a test of economic resilience as much as military capability.
#With input from Agencies