October
23
/ 2026
By Frank Andrews, Khaled Wassef, cbsnews.com
What to know about the Iran war today:
- U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz has told the Financial Times the war with Iran could last another year, but Waltz said he hopes the Iranians "come to the table" before that.
- The price of Brent crude oil briefly crossed $117 a barrel Friday, its highest level during the war, after Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed to have disabled seven tankers near the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump accused Iran Thursday of lying about attacks on ships to drive up oil prices before the U.S. midterm elections.
- State-owned energy giant Saudi Aramco said Thursday that the amount of oil flowing through its East-West pipeline, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, had more than tripled from 2 million to 7 million barrels per day, as uncertainty hangs over exports across the Middle East.
Claire's Observations: Another year ?!? Holy Hieronymus Bosch, has Waltz or anyone in his office crunched the numbers on this?!? Here's where Throck, my AI, tells me we are to date, and it's ugly:
"There is an important distinction between the Pentagon's direct war bill and the much larger economic cost being borne by Americans.
As of October 23, 2026, the best-supported picture I can find is:
Direct U.S. military cost
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that, by August 1, the war had cost the Department of Defense about $38 billion. That includes expended munitions, equipment lost in combat, additional flying hours, operations, and fuel. CBO estimated the war was then adding another $2–3 billion per month."
My bottom line: If you're asking "How much has the war actually cost the United States so far?", I would not use a figure like $38 billion as though that were the complete cost. A reasonable present-day figure for the federal government's identifiable direct military expense is around $47 billion, while the broader economic cost to Americans is substantially higher and is still accumulating. "
If the war continues for another full year at roughly its present intensity, the cost becomes quite substantial—and the military bill is actually the smaller part of the story.
The best starting point is the Congressional Budget Office's estimate of $2–3 billion in additional U.S. military spending per month. The Pentagon separately reported $43.6 billion already spent through September 3, 2026."
One has to wonder, with US taxpayers tapped out between exorbitant prices for everything, inflation, and current taxes, just where Ambassador Waltz believes this money is coming from.