The Human Cost
Iranian Military
+2,096
killed
incl. senior leadership
Iranian Civilians
+1,382
killed
+12,969
wounded
Pain at the Pump
National Average Gas Price
$3.70
per gallon (regular) — up $0.74 since the conflict began
Pre-conflict (Feb 26)
$2.96
Current national avg
$3.70
Increase
+$0.74 (+25.0%)
Brent crude (live) — The national average jumped sharply as the Iran conflict threatens the Strait of Hormuz.
The Real Cost May Be Higher
Missile Defense Alone: ~$5 Billion / Day
Independent analysis cited on the page argues the real cost is likely higher than the base ticker,
especially once interceptor burn-rate and replenishment are included.
THAAD interceptor
$12,700,000 each
Patriot PAC-3
$3,700,000 each
Iranian Shahed-136 drone
$35,000 each
Cost ratio (interceptor vs. drone): 106 : 1
Stockpile Depletion
Inventory & Usage
- THAAD interceptors (Dec 2025): 534
- SM-3 interceptors (Dec 2025): 414
- Used in June 2025 (12-day war): 100–150 THAAD, 80 SM-3
Production Rate
- THAAD production: 96/yr → 400/yr
- PAC-3 production: ~600/yr → 2,000/yr
- Full depletion at current usage: 4–5 weeks
At sustained conflict consumption, interceptor stockpiles could be stressed quickly, with implications
for other theaters relying on U.S. air and missile defense support.
Other Estimates
- Pentagon → Congress (Mar 11) — first 6 days > $11.3B
- Penn Wharton Budget Model — total economic impact up to $210B
- Penn Wharton — direct budgetary cost $40B–$95B
- CSIS — first 100 hours $3.7B
- Center for American Progress — through Day 4 > $5B
- Anadolu Agency — first 24 hours $779M
- IPS/National Priorities Project — major equip. O&S $59.4M/day
Sources
- NYT — Pentagon briefing to Congress: >$11.3B for first 6 days
- NBC News — estimate likely an undercount
- WSJ / congressional official — roughly $1B/day ongoing
- CSIS — 100-hour cost and interceptor breakdown
- Military Times — stockpile and production data
- AAA — national average gas price data