The conflict in Iran has been ongoing for more than a week. Now, it’s been revealed how much it has cost the American taxpayers – a number that will shock you.
According to senior Pentagon officials, the US military campaign against Iran has already cost the American taxpayer billions of dollars in just seven days. It surely puts a spotlight on how expensive warfare has become, as well as raising questions about how long the Trump administration wants to continue the fighting.
Officials told Congress that the first week of the campaign against Iran cost roughly $6 billion, with about $4 billion of that spent on advanced weapons and missile systems.
Speaking with CNN, Lindsay Koshgarian, program director of the National Priorities Project at the Institute of Policy Studies, said the conflict isn’t “necessary.” The expert added that the war in Iran is also taking money away from other policies that could “make life more affordable for Americans.”
“This is highly unpredictable, and so we won’t know the cost of it until it’s over.” Koshgarian said, “The cost of the war in Iraq ended up being almost $3 trillion. So this could, this could be astronomical, easily.”
Iran war cost $890 million each day during first week
So, what is it that really cost that much money? Well, Much of the money went toward expensive ammunition and interceptor missiles used to shoot down threats launched by Iran. Some of those systems can cost millions of dollars each. As you might need dozens or hundreds of them, it quickly becomes an expensive proposition.
Other estimates show that the war has cost the US about $890 million each day in its opening stages — nearly $900 million a day just for direct military operations.
A report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies also found that the first 100 hours of the conflict cost about $3.7 billion, much of which wasn’t even planned for in the current federal budget. That means much of this money will need to be paid for through new spending requests and budget changes — something that’s already drawing criticism.
According to the New York Times, Republicans expect the Trump administration to seek more funding for the war from Congress in the near future. Meanwhile, the conflict in the Middle East has had a significant impact on those at home as well.
For example, gas prices have reportedly increased by 20 to 30 cents per gallon, while Goldman Sachs has estimated inflation to rise up to 2.7 percent by May.
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