© picture alliance/dpa | Federico Gambarini
The American news network NBC has learned from sources within the Trump administration that the war the United States is waging against Iran is costing far more than has been officially admitted so far.
According to NBC, the U.S. has already spent between 80 and 100 billion dollars (70 to 87 billion euros) on the war in Iran. That figure is based on estimates of the U.S. military’s operating costs and the cost of equipment lost during the war.
Russell Vought, the official who heads the White House Office of Management and Budget, stated earlier this month before the U.S. House of Representatives that the cost of the war in Iran amounted to about $30 billion (26 billion euros).
The figures released by NBC are in line with estimates from the think tank Security Policy Reform Institute. For the first 120 days of the war, the think tank estimated the cost at $103.3 billion (90 billion euros) as “direct war costs—the immediate budgetary costs directly related to the war, including operations, personnel, and equipment.”
Since late February 2026, the U.S. and Israel have been at war with Iran, following joint attacks that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. After months of sporadic fighting and failed attempts to reach a ceasefire, a new wave of escalation has erupted in recent days, with nearly daily U.S. attacks on Iranian ports and military targets, Iranian retaliatory strikes against U.S. bases in the Gulf region, and attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The conflict continues to drive up oil and gas prices and fuel ongoing uncertainty about a possible further escalation of the conflict.
Picture: © picture alliance/dpa | Federico Gambarini