The United States' war on Iran has already cost American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, and as things stand, it's only going to rise from here on. The latest estimates put the figure at around $27.68 billion.
The cost has been climbing rapidly, with early Pentagon estimates indicating over $11.3 billion spent in just the first few days, according to data on Global Military Spending.
The same $27.68 billion could have been redirected towards major domestic priorities.
The total amount spent so far could cover the annual salaries of around 4.26 lakh school teachers and provide nearly 2.3 lakh full college scholarships, making higher studies more accessible for students, according to the report.
In healthcare, the money could support more than 12,500 hospital beds annually and set up over 55,000 clean water systems. It could also build over 79,000 homes, the report stated.
The money could have covered the cost of nearly 7.9 billion school lunches for a year and that number will keep rising as the cost of the war continues to increase.
It's been 31 days since the US and Israel launched their unprovoked war on Iran on February 28, and the cost of the US operation has risen rapidly, with the country now spending about $10,300 every second on the war. This comes to roughly $37 million every hour and around $890 million each day.
Of the estimated $890 million spent each day, the biggest share, about $320 million, is used for munitions and missiles, including high-cost weapons such as Tomahawk cruise missiles, JDAM bombs, and precision-guided munitions.
Air operations account for another major portion, with nearly $245 million a day spent on fighter jet missions, bomber runs, aerial refuelling and reconnaissance. Naval operations, including aircraft carriers, destroyers and submarines, add around $155 million daily to the cost.
Missile defence systems such as THAAD, Patriot batteries and Aegis BMD intercepts cost about $95 million a day, while intelligence and cyber operations, including satellite imagery, ISR platforms and cyber operations account for roughly $45 million.
Around $30 million daily goes towards personnel and logistics, such as troop deployments, supply chains and medical support.
The cost estimates are based on publicly available data from leading defence research groups and reports.
The daily spending figure of around $890 million is drawn from analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which studied the first 100 hours of the operation. It's also based on official information released by the US Department of Defense.
