Experts warn US could be paying off Trump’s war for 'generations'

President Donald Trump salutes during a dignified transfer of the remains of six U.S. Army service members amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, March 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Experts speaking with The Intercept warn that the Trump administration is "drastically undercounting the price tag" of the joint military assault against Iran with Israel, with some predicting that the cost could eventually reach trillions of dollars and leave generations of Americans stuck with the bill.

As The Intercept noted in its report from Tuesday, the government previously estimated that President Donald Trump's war in Iran had run up a bill of $11.3 billion in the first week alone. While steep, the actual costs are much higher, according to "experts in the costs of war, lawmakers experienced with the Pentagon budget, and two government officials briefed on Operation Epic Fury who spoke on the condition of anonymity," who all spoke with the outlet.

Based on the insights these sources provided, The Intercept estimated that the war in Iran is costing at least $1 to $2 billion each day, "or roughly $11,500 to $23,000 per second." Should the conflict persist for the next few months, some sources predicted that the total cost could reach upwards of $250 billion.

“If this war takes months rather than weeks, the costs will become astronomical,” Gabe Murphy, a policy analyst at the nonpartisan budget watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense, told The Intercept.

Still, some experts said that these estimates were "a drop in the bucket compared to the long-term expenses." Over the next decade, the fallout of this conflict could reach into the trillions, meaning that "Americans would be paying off the war for generations."

"Democratic lawmakers believe the true number is far higher because the Pentagon estimate did not include many expenses, including the massive buildup of military assets, weapons, and personnel in the Middle East ahead of the conflict," the report explained. "Lawmakers have said they expect the Iran War supplemental request to reach at least $50 billion — on top of a $1.5 trillion War Department budget request for 2027."

Linda Bilmes, a former assistant secretary and chief financial officer of the U.S. Department of Commerce under Bill Clinton, predicted that the immediate cost of the conflict could reach an excess of $50 billion if it stretched into a third or fourth week. An anonymous government official close to the matter agreed with that estimate when presented with the details.

“These costs aren’t known to the American people. You’re never going to hear about them from the White House or the DOD,” the official said. “My kids’ kids, and probably their kids, are going to be paying for this.”

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