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Iran War Cost Tracker

209 pointsby TSiegetoday at 7:01 PM232 commentsview on HN

Comments

bawolfftoday at 7:19 PM

Wouldn't some of these costs be present either way? Without a war US would still have aircraft carriers, they would just be floating somewhere else.

On the other side, it seems like this is not tracking interceptor costs (presumably due to it being classified), which have certainly been used extensively and are extremely expensive. For that matter i doubt we have a very clear picture of how much ordinance has been used in general.

[To be clear, im not doubting war is very expensive]

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tzahifadidatoday at 9:19 PM

What would have happened if the US dis not get involved in WWII. We would probably not be here... Not everything is short sighted bean counters. Having major cities explode by nuclear devices in the US will surely cost more.

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throwaw12today at 8:08 PM

This doesn't include generational damage in sentiment:

* Europe is in trouble because they can't get gas from Russia, Qatar stopped supplying gas

* Japan is in trouble because Middle East supplies its 75% of oil, which is blocked now

* Ukraine is in dilemma, because US giving every support to Israel, but not to Ukraine

* Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain is asking questions, if US can't defend us and is moving all defensive missiles to protect Israel, why should we even be ally with them in the future, they're scared even more (except UAE) that people might overthrow those kings if things continue this way

* Africa understood its better to work with China, than with US

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joecool1029today at 7:25 PM

This seems really low considering one of the early warning radars taken out cost around $1bil on its own.... and it's possible a second one was at least damaged. (one in Qatar the other in Bahrain)

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roughlytoday at 7:22 PM

Next time someone asks how we're going to pay for, eg, free school lunches, keep this site in mind.

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hereme888today at 8:35 PM

For the prospects of the freedom and subsequent prosperity of the oppressed Iranian people, peace in the Middle East, and safety of the commercial shipping routes, I fully approve my tax dollars to the matter.

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coffinbirthtoday at 8:59 PM

Dear Americans, what are the costs of the 165 killed children of the Minab school airstrike[1]?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Minab_school_airstrike

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jakeinspacetoday at 8:52 PM

Is this missing interceptors? My understanding is those probably dominate total costs at the moment, especially if you include the costs of allied Gulf State and Israeli interceptors. Thousands have been expended already on ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones. Those range from hundred of thousands to multiple millions per shot.

Stromgrentoday at 8:07 PM

I saw the cost of the three downed planes somewhere else and thought the price was huge. Now I see that it’s comparable to “First Tomahawk salvo”.

stopbulyingtoday at 7:48 PM

United States involvement in regime change: 1952–1953: Iran [BP], 2026: Iran https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_involvement_in_r...

2025 United States strikes on Iranian nuclear sites https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_United_States_strikes_on_...

2026 Iran massacres https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iran_massacres

2026 Iran conflict https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iran_conflict

wnevetstoday at 8:13 PM

But universal healthcare is too expensive.

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stopbulyingtoday at 7:40 PM

Could add: Civilian casualty ratio by party

(Civilian casualty ratios in recent conflicts and declared wars)

Quarrelsometoday at 8:11 PM

not providing universal healthcare is a choice, as seen directly here. Its distressing to have US politicians make false claims that Europe's universal healthcare being something they "indirectly pay for", because even if Europe spent all their money on defence the US (albeit mostly the GOP) would still resist providing universal healthcare both tooth and nail.

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RobRiveratoday at 8:05 PM

Oh boy - defense accounting I LOVE this game.

Quick quick, give me a quote on the coffee maker on the AWACS.

rebolektoday at 7:28 PM

[flagged]

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fishingisfuntoday at 7:56 PM

the lives lost though. the children killed.

koverdatoday at 8:57 PM

neat! I made (vibecoded) and deployed something very similar yesterday https://iranwarcost.com

mcintyre1994today at 8:26 PM

Wouldn’t most of these costs have been going for a few weeks, given the build up?

ZunarJ5today at 8:38 PM

Literally anything but healthcare.

mandeepjtoday at 8:32 PM

Orange clown has a strange way of looking at things. He's now saying - He's not starting a war, but rather ending one.

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cm2012today at 8:25 PM

$2b is a rounding error in the USA budget

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t1234stoday at 7:57 PM

Which contractor is selling the most munitions? LM, Raytheon, etc..

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Paul_Stoday at 8:54 PM

Can we subtract the number of dollars that it would cost not to start a war?

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2001zhaozhaotoday at 8:57 PM

> $2.1B

so $7 per person?

martythemaniaktoday at 7:19 PM

Why is the US at war?

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goestootoday at 7:26 PM

Why are the fonts so small? I have a hard time reading anything.

textechtoday at 8:16 PM

The cost doesn't really matter. The US led financial system (which is a glorified Ponzi scheme) is on an unsustainable path. The war in Iran is about resources (force Iran to use US dollars to trade oil, give US more leverage in dealing with China...etc.) and to delay the collapse. You build "digital pyramids" like AI data centers and consolidate power/resources while you still can. Financial cost of the war is largely irrelevant. Whether the outcome will be to your advantage is a different issue but pattern is predictable with historical precedence (Romans...etc.). Unfortunately innocent people pay the price.

hk__2today at 7:47 PM

*for the US.

benj111today at 7:58 PM

I'd rather have a tracker to show how close the Orange One is to his coveted Peace Prize.

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TSiegetoday at 7:05 PM

Cost is not the first thing I care about in war, but I felt like this is a useful site for tracking the money we're lighting on fire in order to pursue this conflict

Civilian costs are real, unjustified, and incalculable.

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butILoveLifetoday at 7:22 PM

We better get a liberal democratic Iran government out of this.

We better remove and halt nuclear powers for the rest of my life.

I suppose pick either, and it was successful.

My personal polymarket says we wont get either. Trump and Israel ruin their reputation. But reputation matters close to 0 in international relations, which is why they don't care.

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tokyobreakfasttoday at 7:40 PM

How much money was set on fire for Ukraine?

Where does that fall in relation on the righteousness rubric?

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jmyeettoday at 7:39 PM

There are a bunch of videos showing how expensive it is to fire certain weapons eg [1]. Not only are there our direct costs but we're also supplying several allies with munitions and weapon systems and paying for them ourselves.

Also, yes carrier groups exist anyway, but operating them in a combat zone halfway around the world is way more expensive.

Operation Epstein Fury [sic] is a giant white elephant and I think more Americans should know how much this is costing as well as why we're doing it, which is simply to support American imperialism with a lie similar to the IRaq WMD lie and that is that Iran is "weeks away" from nuclear weapons, a lie that's been told and propagated since at least 1992 [2].

President Eisenhower warned of the dangers of the expanding military-industrial complex in his 1961 farewell address [3]. Every bomber, every plane, every missile has an eye-watering cost when you put it int erms of schools, houses or healthcare. The recent ICE budget, for example, could've ended homelessness. Not for the year. Forever.

Israel begged every president since Reagan to invade Iran. They all declined. Until now. And many suspect we're going to run out of anti-missile munitions long before Iran runs out of ballistic missiles.

Just remember, every used munition eneds to be replaced. That's a new contract and new profit opportunity. It's why in so many post-WW2 conflicts you'll find American weapons on both sides.

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6mWI8Q6IwA

[2]: https://www.tiktok.com/@therecount/video/7612744750713589023

[3]: https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/president-dwigh...

tw04today at 7:51 PM

[flagged]

4gotunameagaintoday at 7:34 PM

[flagged]

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FrustratedMonkytoday at 7:24 PM

Wow. That escalated quickly.

arduanikatoday at 8:13 PM

It's hard for laypeople to comprehend such large numbers. Could you add a counter that measures it in miles of California high-speed rail? It's got to be over three miles by now at least.

rkal23today at 7:42 PM

Maybe it will be offset by selling LNG at 50% higher prices to the dumb Europeans. Blowing up Nordstream was the first step, Qatar stopping LNG production the second. Perhaps take Greenland while the EU is completely dependent.