Eight months into the US war of aggression against Iran, American households are facing nearly $2,000 in additional costs per household, while the economic fallout is estimated to have cost the US economy $265 billion, says an economist. 

“Nearly $2,000. By my calculation, that is what the Iran war has cost the average American household since the war began nearly eight months ago. Nationwide, that adds up to $265 billion,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.

The estimated cost is seven times the figure War Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Congress for the period from February 28, when the US and Israel launched their joint military aggression against Iran, through late July.

Hegseth’s figure covers only the direct military costs of the war. For American households, however, the financial burden has been far greater, as the war’s wider effects across global markets, particularly oil markets, have driven up inflation and everyday expenses.

Soaring energy prices account for the largest share of the financial burden, adding approximately $1,100 to each household’s expenses through higher fuel prices, home heating bills and transportation costs.

“A gallon of regular goes for $4.37, up from just under $3 before the war,” Zandi wrote. “Diesel is above $6, and jet fuel has nearly doubled. As winter approaches, the much higher price of home heating fuel is also adding to the costs.”

He noted that, at current prices, energy costs are continuing to rise by around $50 per household each week.

Researchers at Brown University’s Watson School of International and Public Affairs are also tracking the war’s impact on American consumers through rising gasoline and diesel prices. According to their estimates, US consumers have paid an additional $133.3 billion since February 28, as gasoline prices have surged by more than 46% and diesel prices by over 70%.

Higher gasoline prices account for $73.5 billion of the additional costs, while rising diesel prices have added another $59.8 billion, bringing the total extra burden to an estimated $1,017.76 per US household.

Higher interest rates have added an estimated $540 to household costs, Zandi said, noting that fixed-rate mortgage rates have risen from below 6% before the war to around 7.5%.

“Long-term rates are also up a lot,” he wrote. “By our reckoning, the higher rates have cost the economy about $540 per household.”

Zandi also estimates that direct military operations have added another $360 per household, based on figures acknowledged by the Pentagon.

Experts, however, warn that the actual military costs could exceed the Pentagon’s estimates, as the announced figures do not account for additional expenses related to repairs, maintenance and equipment replacement.

Linda Bilmes, a war-budgeting expert and the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, said she was certain the cost of the war against Iran would reach $1 trillion. “Perhaps we have already racked up that amount,” she added.

The Pentagon cannot sustain its war on Iran without further funds

Pete Hegseth, head of the US Department of War, testified in Congress about the failing war on Iran, requesting a $70 billion supplemental budget.

The mounting economic costs come as public opposition to the war against Iran and US President Donald Trump’s handling of it continues to grow.

According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted from September 28 to October 4 among 5,062 US adults, 65% disapprove of Trump’s handling of the US military aggression against Iran.

Support for the initial decision to use military force has also declined, with just 34% now saying it was the right decision, down four percentage points from March.

Zandi said that, considering that “the war’s costs taken together have absorbed about half the average American household’s income gain over the past eight months,” it was “no wonder the war is so unpopular.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s approval rating has also taken a hit, reaching a net rating of -23.5, an all-time low, according to Nate Silver.

Seeking to justify the aggression against Iran, Trump has described its cost as “a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe.”

As the rising cost of living threatens to weigh on Republicans in the November midterm elections, Trump promised last month to offer a $5,000 payout to every US adult if Republicans retain their majorities in both chambers of Congress.