Trump's war against Iran has already cost American taxpayers more than $5 billion — and the figure keeps climbing, Responsible Statecraft reports, citing a new analysis by the Center for American Progress (CAP).

The report accounts for costs related to Trump's June strike on Iran, US strikes on Houthis in Yemen during Israel's Gaza war, regional military buildup, and equipment losses. It's "conservative estimate of initial costs of Operation Epic Fury exceeds $5 billion as of March 2 — and the campaign is just beginning."

Defense budget expert Ben Freeman of the Quincy Institute told RS that even this figure is likely an undercount. "The $1.1 billion US radar allegedly destroyed by Iran in Qatar isn't included, nor are the costs of all American missile interceptors used in the conflict." Freeman adds that "when the dust settles, there's no doubt the costs will exceed $10 billion and could be significantly higher if the conflict drags on."

Other estimates vary: the Institute for Policy Studies and the National Priorities Project calculate that operating two carrier strike groups and more than 200 military aircraft costs nearly $60 million per day. The Pentagon is reportedly preparing an emergency funding request of over $50 billion to replace expended munitions and lost equipment — a mechanism reminiscent of the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) fund used to finance the Iraq and Afghanistan wars off-budget, which critics called a "slush fund" and which totaled over $2 trillion before being shut down in 2021.

Freeman notes that Patriot missile costs alone should give Americans pause: at roughly $4 million per missile, with up to 11 used to intercept a single Iranian missile, "that's $44 million of taxpayer money for one Iranian rocket — and we've already intercepted hundreds."

Domestic support for the war is already low, with polls showing broad public disapproval. CAP notes that "these costs come at a time when Americans are acutely feeling rising housing, energy, and healthcare prices," and that if the war continues at this pace, the US government could spend tens of billions of sums comparable to Medicaid funding for millions of Americans.