Seven Economic and Military Damages from Trump's Iran War
The armed confrontation between the United States and Iran, lasting over 100 days, has reportedly caused massive economic and military damage to Washington. Although President Donald Trump claimed absolute victory following a new peace memorandum of understanding, real data indicates substantial losses across various domestic sectors.
Citing CNN International on Monday (22/6/2026), the signing of the latest peace agreement officially halted the escalation that had claimed the lives of 13 US military personnel and more than 7,500 civilians in the Middle East region. On his personal social media account, Trump loudly touted unilateral claims of post-war economic benefits.
“Thank you! Oil is flowing again, Iran will never be able to have nuclear weapons (the world will be safe!), the stock market is soaring, jobs are at record highs, and prices are falling. Our country is strong, safe, and respected like never before,” Trump wrote in an official social media post.
Despite these claims, the damage caused by the war persists. Here are the facts:
The Painful Price of War
An initial analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) revealed that the direct costs borne by the US Department of Defence reached approximately US$40 billion (Rp 712 trillion). This staggering figure only covers expenditures for ammunition, destroyed combat equipment, and physical damage to military bases, excluding routine operational costs already accounted for in the fiscal year 2026 budget.
The Pentagon reportedly requested an additional US$80 billion (Rp1,424 trillion) in emergency funds from the central government to cover the overrun. Of this total request, less than US$20 billion (Rp356 trillion) was allocated purely for urgent post-war operational needs, not including the repair costs for US military facilities across the Middle East.
The largest military expenditure was absorbed by ammunition purchases due to the high usage of expensive, long-range precision-guided munitions. For instance, the US military recorded launching approximately one thousand Tomahawk missiles during the conflict.
“The biggest cost component is ammunition, especially because of the high usage of very sophisticated and expensive long-range weapons,” said Mark Cancian, Senior Adviser at CSIS, detailing the US$26 billion (Rp462.8 trillion) in military spending.
Depleted Ammunition Stockpiles
The high intensity of the war significantly drained the primary missile inventories of the Pentagon’s defence command. This critical situation forced President Trump to invoke the Defence Production Act in early June to compel domestic defence companies to accelerate mass weapons manufacturing.
Although daily war costs decreased towards the end of the conflict due to reduced attack intensity, the cost of the first 100 hours of the war alone reached US$3.7 billion (Rp65.86 trillion). Beyond the Defence Department, other agencies such as Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs also bore losses amounting to US$1 billion (Rp17.8 trillion).
“About US$165 million (Rp2.93 trillion) of the non-military agency expenditures were directly related to compensation for high fuel prices during the conflict,” Cancian added.
Soaring Fuel Prices
The spike in petrol prices dealt a heavy blow to Trump, who had consistently educated the public about energy independence through domestic oil drilling. During the conflict, the average price of petrol at US service stations surged from below US$3 (Rp53,400) to above US$4 (Rp71,200) per gallon.
Although the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is projected to lower energy commodity prices, the recovery of retail prices in the domestic market will take considerable time. As of the end of last week, the national average petrol price remained at US$3.97 (Rp70,666) per gallon after a slight dip below the US$4 (Rp71,200) mark.
According to data from Brown University’s energy cost tracker, each US household had to bear an average extra expense of US$253 (Rp4.5 million). This additional cost represents a direct loss paid by citizens due to energy inflation triggered by the outbreak of the armed conflict.
The Diesel Domino Effect
While the general public felt the impact of rising petrol prices, the agriculture and logistics sectors suffered a far heavier blow from skyrocketing diesel prices. The average diesel price, which was around US$3.80 (Rp67,640) per gallon before the war, surged past US$5 (Rp89,000) per gallon by mid-June.
Brown University recorded that this spike in diesel prices forced US consumers to pay an aggregate additional cost of up to US$27.1 billion (Rp482.38 trillion). Beyond disrupting logistics, the war also triggered a scarcity of fertiliser supplies, which is predicted to have a long-term domino effect on agricultural productivity.
Plummeting Oil Reserves
The national emergency oil reserves stored in salt caverns along the Gulf Coast have reportedly been drained to a critical level. A combination of policies from the Joe Biden era in response to the Russia-Ukraine war and Trump’s policies during the Iran war has pushed US energy reserves to their lowest point since 1983.
The halt of logistics activity in the Middle East for nearly four months also deprived the global market of approximately 1.15 billion barrels of crude oil supply. This condition forced countries worldwide to tap into their strategic reserves, further straining global energy security.