Rs 1,88,70,00,00,00,000: The Projected Cost Of Trump's War In Iran

The US is at war again and apart from the human toll - including the loss of American lives - it is costing the country a pretty penny as well.

The first 24 hours of the strikes on Iran alone have seen the US spend $779 million, or nearly Rs 6,900 crore, according to reports. And US President Donald Trump has declared that the war will last approximately a month, if not more.

Data from the Center for New American Security states carrier strike groups (like the USS Gerald R Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier) cost around $6.5 million, or Rs 58 crore, a day to operate. In the lead-up to the strikes, which led to the elimination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other key figures, the United States deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups, including the Gerald R Ford, in the Middle East.

Taken together, the estimated cost of the pre-strike military build-up - including repositioning aircraft, deploying naval vessels and mobilising regional assets - would be in the vicinity of $630 million (Rs 5,556 crore).

If the war drags on, like Trump has indicated it will, the US will end up spending a staggering $210 billion (Rs 18.87 lakh crore), according to Kent Smetters, director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model and one of the nation's foremost fiscal analysts.

Since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, the US has provided $21.7 billion in military aid to Israel. It also supported operations carried out by the country in Yemen, Iran and the wider Middle East, spending between $9.65 billion and $12.07 billion on this. Add the two figures, cited in Brown University's 2025 Costs of War report, and you arrive at between $31.35 billion (Rs 2.82 lakh crore) and $33.77 billion (Rs 3.04 lakh crore).

Not Backing Down

Asked how long the war will last, Trump, who has projected himself as the "Peace President" and made no secret of desperately wanting the Nobel Peace Prize, said, "We projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that. We'll do it... whatever the time is, it's okay, whatever it takes."

On Tuesday, he also ruled out talks with Iran. "Their air defence, Air Force, Navy, and Leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said 'Too Late!'" the US president wrote on Truth Social.

Iran has also asserted it will not back down unless the aggression stops.

"War has been imposed on the Iranian nation," Iran's ambassador to the UN, Ali Bahreini, said. "Responsibility should be placed on the United States and Israel. We will continue our defence until this aggression stops."