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U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

reuters.com

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Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#81

Post by dashundchen »

incrudible wrote: post #21
nerdsniper wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Note that it doesn't count the cost of second- or third- order effects (like the cost from the price of oil going up by 50%). Since February 28, crude oil prices increases cost $42 billion in the United States alone.

What are the second- and third order effects of the Marg Bar Amrika Society getting a nuclear device (and the missiles to deliver it)?

Who shredded the 2015 agreement with Iran that had stopped them from enriching more uranium?

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/04/29/science/iran-...

Oh wait, that the Trump and his war criminal friends. They make the problem, blame it on someone else, and then claim they fixed it while making life worse for everyone else. Meanwhile Trump and his corrupt oligarch cronies are profiting massively.

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#82

Post by howmayiannoyyou »

Perspective:

- $9b per month increase in US oil export revenue as a result offsets probably 40% of the cost.

- Several trillion (with a 'T") of realized and yet to be realized FDI commitments from gulf states more than offsets cost by about 3x.

- A nuclear Iran carries economic costs I won't detail here to prevent a wall of text. In sum, forces other countries to go nuclear and take other actions to manage risk, and this happens in ways that could severely impact US dollar standing, US debt standing and US military spending. Its an interconnected world.

I know its unpopular to be pro-USA and pro-government on HN, but someone has to be the voice of reason - even if its at the bottom of the page.

-

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#83

Post by coralreef »

dylan604 wrote: post #17
coralreef wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was gained from it?

That could be asked of the data centers and the war

The data center money was private capital put up by individuals and corporations willingly. They are seeking to provide a product (compute) to paying consumers.

You can have an opinion on whether or not AI/data centers are worthwhile, but ultimately it wasn't made by your money.

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#84

Post by howmayiannoyyou »

nerdsniper wrote: post #3
palmotea wrote: post #2

Wow, that's pretty cheap compared to all the AI datacenters.

Note that it doesn't count the cost of second- or third- order effects (like the cost from the price of oil going up by 50%). Since February 28, crude oil prices increases cost $42 billion in the United States alone.

We increased export revenue by about $9b per month and may have changed the global energy supply chain to our benefit for decades.

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#85

Post by black_13 »

crab_galaxy wrote: post #58

It's so funny to me when the dollars stop being abstract for a moment, and I see that the US has regions that beg for quite literally .2% of this amount to fund things like public transit, lead remediation in elementary schools, or homelessness programs. Americans will never see a dime of benefit from this war.

[dead]

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#86

Post by howmayiannoyyou »

qsera wrote: post #62
incrudible wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are the second- and third order effects of the Marg Bar Amrika Society getting a nuclear device (and the missiles to deliver it)?

It is interesting. Is the job of a leader (or the administration) to foresee threats before anyone else can see it coming? Is their job to make sure that it does not manifest? It is interesting that when they does it, the majority is against it, precisely because no one else could see it and can agree with the action of the administration? So it seems that if someone is a very good leader, they will be ridiculed by t…

Exactly.

- Many cannot accept its dangerous world.

- Many don't understand that stewardship of nuclear weapons alone is a major undertaking that Iran cannot be trusted to manage. US & USSR alone has several near-miss detonations/launches.

- Many will refuse to accept solely because 'orange man bad'.

- Some are paid to criticize on influential online forums and HN makes no effort to moderate or police such activity.

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#87

Post by Ritewut »

dmurray wrote: post #39
Ritewut wrote: post #22

I remember before the election I read a few people on HN say Trump is the most anti-war president they have ever seen and that all the talk about him letting Israel flatten Palestine was fearmongering. Wonder how they feel now.

I felt more or less like this, though I don't know if I posted it on HN. Lots of things I didn't like about Trump, but I did favour the less interventionist foreign policy he promised and initially delivered. Now I feel I was wrong and Trump is just averagely warmongering, as US presidents go.

Trump kidnaps a sitting president of a foreign nation after months of conducting strikes in the Caribbean. This is not a war but calling him "averagely warmongering" is just wrong.

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#88

Post by howmayiannoyyou »

dashundchen wrote: post #81
incrudible wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are the second- and third order effects of the Marg Bar Amrika Society getting a nuclear device (and the missiles to deliver it)?

Who shredded the 2015 agreement with Iran that had stopped them from enriching more uranium? https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/04/29/science/iran-... Oh wait, that the Trump and his war criminal friends. They make the problem, blame it on someone else, and then claim they fixed it while making life worse for everyone else. Meanwhile Trump and his corrupt oligarch cronies are profiting massively.

[dead]

Re: U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official

#89

Post by vixen99 »

crab_galaxy wrote: post #58

It's so funny to me when the dollars stop being abstract for a moment, and I see that the US has regions that beg for quite literally .2% of this amount to fund things like public transit, lead remediation in elementary schools, or homelessness programs. Americans will never see a dime of benefit from this war.

Those with shares in certain companies have got very rich out of it.
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