Harvard Expert Warns Iran War Costs Will Exceed $1 Trillion

Linda Bilmes, a public policy lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, warns that the total cost of the war in Iran will exceed $1 trillion for U.S. taxpayers. Bilmes estimates current spending at approximately $2 billion per day, arguing that the U.S. typically underestimates the long-term fiscal impact of Middle East conflicts.

Fiscal pressure is mounting as the Pentagon reports the first week of the conflict cost $11.3 billion and has requested an additional $200 billion in funding from the White House. Total expenditures include munitions, troop deployments, and the loss of military assets, including three F-15 fighter jets downed by friendly fire from Kuwait.

Donald Trump stated the war could end "very soon" while the United States maintains a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and engages in peace talks with Iran.