Iran War Drains $43.6 Billion From US Treasury as Global Fuel Crisis Hits Families From Tehran to Dhaka

Iran War Drains $43.6 Billion From US Treasury as Global Fuel Crisis Hits Families From Tehran to Dhaka

The US war with Iran has cost $43.6 billion and triggered fuel shortages worldwide. From insulin patients in Tehran to fishermen in France and families in Bangladesh, ordinary people are paying the price.

· 2 min read ·
iranusapetrolmiddle eastindia

The United States has spent $43.6 billion on its war with Iran, the Pentagon told Congress this week — the highest official estimate so far [2]. The figure includes $11.2 billion already committed to operating expenses such as fuel, combat pay, aircraft, medical care, and parts [2]. As polls show more Americans oppose the war, partly because of its effect on the economy, the issue is becoming more important before the November midterm elections [2].

The war has also drained key US munitions stockpiles, according to the Pentagon's inspector general, who found a bottleneck in resupply efforts [3]. This finding contradicts President Donald Trump's claim that US supplies are "virtually limitless" [3].

Beyond the battlefield, the war has tightened global fuel markets. Even with refineries operating at high capacity, supplies of refined products such as gasoline and diesel are running short faster than crude oil, pushing prices up, causing shortages in some regions, and leading several countries to ban exports [5].

In France, fishermen blocked the entrances to two Mediterranean ports and a fuel depot on Wednesday to protest near-record diesel prices linked to the US-Iran war [4]. The government responded by increasing fuel subsidies for the fishing industry [4].

In Bangladesh, the war and the country's reliance on gas imports have caused a severe energy crisis. In Dhaka, a city of almost 40 million people, piped gas is only strong enough for cooking at around 1am, forcing residents like 34-year-old bank employee Halder to wake in the middle of the night to cook for her family [6]. Public areas now shut off power early in the evening, and the city operates in darkness [6].

Inside Iran, patients are struggling to find medicine as the war and shipping restrictions continue. Ali Mohseni's 74-year-old mother needs insulin pens every day, but a five-pack that was once easy to find at almost any pharmacy in Tehran now costs more than triple and is so scarce that he sometimes visits several pharmacies before finding them [1]. "She cannot simply stop taking it," Mohseni said [1].

Sources

Insulin crisis in Iran: war and shipping limits leave patients scrambling #245046Pentagon: Iran war has cost US$43.6 billion #245070US military runs low on weapons after Iran strikes #242416Diesel Crisis: French Fishermen Block Ports #244001Oil Shortage Deepens as Fuel Markets Tighten #245278Gas at 1am: Bangladesh's energy crisis forces night cooking #244113

Related

Militarization and War Drive Global Crisis as Public Funds Fuel Conflict and Corporate Profit

As conflicts rage from Ukraine to Gaza and the Middle East, a cascade of overlapping emergencies is exposing a global system that channels public resources into endless war and corporate profiteering while ordinary people bear the costs of hunger, displacement, and climate collapse. The fragile United States-brokered ceasefire between Iran and Israel has collapsed within days, triggering direct missile exchanges and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that carries 20% of the world’s oil supply, sending global energy prices soaring [14115]. This has compounded a crisis that has already pushed world hunger to a record 363 million people, according to the United Nations World Food Programme [14076].

US Sanctions on Iran Slam Global Markets: Oil, Gas, and Bonds Reel as Tehran Vows Revenge

A sweeping new round of U.S. sanctions targeting Iran’s oil exports and financial system has sent shockwaves through global markets, spiking European gas prices to their highest level since 2023, freezing bond trading, and pushing Iran’s currency past 2 million rials per dollar.

A World Held Hostage: How War, Climate Chaos, and a System Built for Profit Are Crushing Global Stability

A fragile peace between the United States and Iran offers a rare moment of relief for global energy markets, but the world remains trapped in a cycle of escalating wars, a worsening climate crisis, and an economic system that prioritizes profit over human welfare, leaving ordinary people to bear the costs of soaring prices, deepening debt, and mounting suffering.

War, Oil, and a Burning Planet: How Conflict and Climate Are Breaking the Global Economy

The global economy is being pulled apart by a convergence of escalating military conflicts, surging energy prices, and accelerating climate disasters. As the United States and Iran engage in open warfare over vital oil shipping lanes and Ukraine intensifies its drone campaign against Russian energy infrastructure, the resulting shocks are rippling through financial markets, threatening food supplies, and pushing the world’s most vulnerable populations to the breaking point.

Obama Admits US Is 'Worse Off' After 100-Day War with Iran — $53 Billion in Gas Costs

Former President Barack Obama says the United States is worse off now than before it went to war with Iran, as new data shows American consumers have paid an extra $53 billion in higher gas prices during the conflict.

Peace Deals and War Drums: A Fragile Global Economy Buckles Under Conflict, Climate, and Inequality

A fragile peace between the United States and Iran offers a rare moment of relief for global energy markets, but the world remains trapped in a cycle of escalating wars, a worsening climate crisis, and an economic system that prioritizes profit over human welfare, leaving ordinary people to bear the costs of soaring prices, deepening debt, and mounting suffering.