The Iran war had cost the US taxpayer at least $38 billion by August 1 and expenses are projected to run at about $3 billion a month if the conflict continues, a new report has found.The $38 billion tally reflects the costs of replacing expended munitions and equipment lost in battle, increased flying hours, other operations, and increased fuel costs, the Congressional Budget Office report on Pentagon spending on the war said in its report, released on Tuesday. The figure is about square with the costs outlined by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to Congress in July. The report from the CBO, a federal agency charged with providing budget and economic information to Congress, added that depending on the level of violence, the Pentagon's costs could come in at about $3 billion a month."Monthly costs could be higher still if the violence escalated further," it said.The CBO report said its estimate does not include costs borne by other parts of the federal government, such as how the increased cost of fuel has affected various agencies. It also does not include costs already accounted for in the federal budget.It highlighted that the main cost of the conflict has been the large expenditure of missile defence interceptors, which it said will leave the US with a reduced inventory "for several years"."The shortfall would become especially problematic if a conflict arose with an opponent...
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