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Here's how much the the Iran war cost -- and how its effects will linger

A man walks past a billboard featuring the portraits of (right to left) Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on June 15. Firdo

Here's how much the the Iran war cost -- and how its effects will linger
NPR News โ€” 17 June 2026
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A man walks past a billboard featuring the portraits of (right to left) Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on June 15. Firdous Nazir/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption

As conflicts go, the Iran war, should a loose framework and ceasefire deal hold , was relatively short in duration. But its costs and aftereffects will likely linger for years.

The months-long conflict, which pitted the world's most powerful military against a far weaker, yet strategically adept, adversary cost the lives of 13 U.S. service members and more than 3,300 Iranians, according to state media. Another 3,826 have been killed in Lebanon, nearly 60 in Israel and dozens across Gulf states, according to authorities in those countries.

It also led to higher oil prices and spiked inflation and mortgage rates in the U.S. -- and made the job of incoming Federal Reserve chief Kevin Warsh more complicated. And it roiled global energy markets, paralyzed a key waterway, led to fuel rationing in countries in Asia and Africa, disrupted supply chains of everything from semiconductors to fertilizers, while hitting the economies of key Middle East nations particularly hard.

While the framework provided little in-depth detail, here are some of the key areas where the war's costs are already clear:

Moody's Analytics estimates the war has cost U.S. consumers and taxpayers about $132 billion so far, and the meter is still running.

The most visible piece of that cost is higher energy prices, resulting from the near shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. Gasoline prices, which averaged just under $3 a gallon when the war began, soared as high as $4.56 a gallon after that vital artery for crude oil was cut off, according to AAA.

Gas prices are displayed at an Exxon Mobil gas station on June 16 in Austin, Texas. Gas prices in the U.S. have fallen as wholesale gasoline and crude oil prices declined following a preliminary agreement between the U.S. and Iran to continue ceasefire negotiations and work toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil exports. Brandon Bell/Getty Images hide caption

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