PNN – CNN reported that an impartial assessment of the costs and economic consequences of the Iran war for the United States presents a much more complex picture than the triumphalist narrative of the country’s president.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, CNN stated in this report: Following the signing of the memorandum of understanding and the start of a new round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran, the joint US-Israeli war against Iran has been stopped, at least for now, and US President Donald Trump also claims that the Americans have won this battle.
Last Thursday, Trump wrote on his social network called “Truth Social”: “Most welcome” and then listed the benefits of the memorandum of understanding signed to continue negotiations with Iran over the next 60 days.
He claimed in the message that the oil is flowing, Iran can never get a nuclear weapon, the stock market is soaring, employment is at an all-time high, and prices are falling (more purchasing power!) Our country is stronger, safer, and more respected than ever.
However, an unbiased assessment of what has happened after more than 100 days of war, in which, according to Washington, 13 American soldiers and, according to unofficial figures, more than 7,500 civilians in the region died, paints a much more complex picture than Trump’s narrative, which, as usual, has written it all in capital letters to show victory.
The report continues with some important figures and trends that paint a more complete picture of the war’s impact on America.
The initial cost of the war is about $40 billion, but the real cost will be much higher
According to estimates soon to be published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the war has cost the US Department of War about $40 billion. This figure includes the cost of ammunition, destroyed equipment and damage to US bases in the region, but does not include operational costs, which are already included in the Pentagon’s budget of more than $1 trillion for fiscal year 2026.
Two US government sources told CNN that the Pentagon has requested $80 billion in additional funding. Less than $20 billion of that amount is for immediate needs stemming from the Iran war and does not include costs such as rebuilding facilities and deploying US forces in the region.
Ammunition cost $26 billion
The largest part of the war’s costs is ammunition. According to Mark Kansian, a senior adviser at the CSIS think tank, the US has been using a large number of long-range, highly advanced and expensive weapons. For example, each Tomahawk missile costs about $2.5 million, and the US has fired nearly a thousand of them.
Experts and officials believe that the US military has used up a significant part of its main missile inventory. Trump activated the Defense Production Act in early June to force arms companies to increase production.
According to CSIS estimates, the first 100 hours of the war alone cost about $3.7 billion. By the twelfth day, the cumulative cost of the war had reached about $16.5 billion. While the Department of War bore the brunt of the financial burden, other government agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs, also incurred about $1 billion. Of that, about $165 million was related to “fuel price increases,” according to Kansian.
Gasoline prices remain high
The war led to higher gasoline prices, a fact that has been bittersweet for Trump, who has made expanding oil and gas production a central pillar of his economic agenda. However, while the United States has long been the world’s largest producer of oil and gas, the market is complex and, of course, global. The average price of gasoline in the United States was less than $3 per gallon before the war, but it rose to more than $4 for much of the war.
Now that tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is set to resume (within the 60-day period of negotiations), prices are expected to fall, but that will take time. The average price of gasoline in the United States was $3.97 on Friday, the first time it has fallen below $4 since March 30.
According to Brown University’s Energy Price Monitor, the average American household is spending more than $253 more on energy than it did before the war.
The Domino Effect of Rising Gasoline Prices
Average American consumers have been hurt by the rise in gasoline prices, but farmers and shipping and trucking companies have been hit hardest by the rise in gasoline prices.
The average price of gasoline before the war was about $3.80, but by June 15, it had risen above $5.00. Brown University found that Americans have paid an additional $27.1 billion in higher gasoline prices. The war against Iran has also pushed up the price of chemical fertilizers, which could have a long-term negative impact on the agricultural sector.
US Strategic Petroleum Reserves Drop to Lowest Level Since 1983
The US emergency oil reserves, stored in salt caverns on the Gulf of Mexico coast (which Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico by executive order at the start of his second term), have been depleted both under Joe Biden (as a result of the Ukraine war) and Trump’s second term (due to the Iran war).
CNN reports that the reserves are now at their lowest level since 1983, when the US first began filling them under the Reagan administration.
The world lost 1.15 billion barrels of oil
During the nearly four-month war, Middle Eastern oil exports were virtually halted. The world lost a total of 1.15 billion barrels of oil during the war, according to an estimate by commodity analyst firm Kpler.
To make up for the shortfall, countries like Venezuela and Brazil increased their production, according to CNN. The United States exported large quantities of jet fuel to Europe and diesel to Australia. In addition, the Trump administration lifted some of the oil sanctions on Russia and Iran during the war. 32 countries also coordinated the largest release of emergency oil reserves in history.
However, these measures were not enough, and as a result, oil companies were forced to draw from their private reserves to meet demand.
Oklahoma’s oil tanks are running low!
The vital oil storage and distribution center in Cushing, Oklahoma, which distributes oil across the United States, has now reached an operational alert level, which is like having a coffee pot with only sediment at the bottom and having to tilt the pot to pour the last few drops into your cup!
Much of the oil remaining at the bottom of the tanks is unusable, making it very difficult to maintain pressure in the pipelines to transport it to consumers.
Inflation is on the rise
Trump has repeatedly struggled to explain, or rather justify, why his policies have not caused prices to rise, but the statistics say otherwise. At one point, he called the idea of “purchasing power” a “hoax”! He even recently said, “I love inflation,” and claimed that after the war, inflation would “drop like a rock”!
But there’s a difference between deflation, which means prices are not rising rapidly, and goods becoming cheaper. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual inflation rate in the United States has surpassed 4 percent for the first time in three years, largely due to rising energy costs.
Consumer Confidence Remains Low
Consumer confidence rose slightly in June after three straight months of declines, according to a long-term survey by the University of Michigan. However, the index is still far from historical averages.
Americans have been dealing with a series of economic shocks since 2020 and have not yet had enough time to regain lost confidence, says CNN’s Brian Mena.
Bonds have fallen sharply
Concerns about inflation from rising energy prices have led to a sell-off in bonds. As a result, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note hit its highest level in more than a year in May. The rate directly affects the cost of consumer loans, including credit cards, auto loans and mortgages.
Mortgage rates remain very high
The average 30-year mortgage rate in the United States rose to 6.47 percent last week, up from 6.52 percent the week before.
Higher bond yields have pushed up mortgage rates, keeping the housing market in a recession and making it harder for many households to buy a home.
Trump’s approval rating has declined
While Trump still enjoys the support of his core supporters, the majority of Americans are dissatisfied with his performance. As a result, his approval rating was below 40 percent even before the war began, and now sits at around 37 percent, according to a CNN poll.
According to a recent Fox News poll, Americans’ assessment of Trump’s handling of the war and the economy is similarly largely negative, with only 31 percent of voters approving of his economic performance and just 35 percent approving of his handling of Iran.