TEHRAN- When Donald Trump last week declared victory in his war against Iran, he painted a picture of American triumph. “OIL IS FLOWING, IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON… PRICES ARE DROPPING,” he boasted on social media. But a comprehensive CNN analysis of the 100-day conflict reveals a devastating reality that the President’s all-caps pronouncements cannot obscure: this was a war that bankrupted American taxpayers, emptied the nation’s strategic reserves, and inflicted economic pain on ordinary families—all while killing more than 7,500 civilians in the region.
The staggering price tag
According to preliminary figures from the Center for Strategic and International Studies obtained by CNN, the war has cost the Pentagon approximately $40 billion. But this is merely the “sticker price.” The Pentagon has already submitted a request for $80 billion in supplemental funding—more than double the official figure—with less than $20 billion even directly related to immediate war needs. The rest, sources told CNN, represents hidden costs the administration is desperate to conceal.
The munitions bill alone stands at $26 billion. The US fired approximately 1,000 Tomahawk missiles, each costing $2.5 million, in what experts described to CNN as a “high use” of sophisticated, expensive weaponry. The first 100 hours of the conflict burned through $3.7 billion. By day 12, the cumulative cost had reached $16.5 billion.
American families pay the price
While Trump celebrates, American households are bleeding. Brown University’s energy cost tracker found that families have spent $253 more on gasoline than they would have without the war—a direct result of Trump’s aggressive policies. Diesel prices, which affect everything from food delivery to farming, forced Americans to spend an additional $27.1 billion.
The national average gas price exceeded $4 per gallon for much of the conflict, and despite Trump’s claims of “affordability,” the US average stood at $3.97 on Friday—only recently dropping below $4 for the first time since March 30.
Strategic reserves depleted to 1983 levels
Perhaps most alarmingly, the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve—America’s emergency oil supply stored in Gulf Coast salt caverns—has fallen to its lowest level since 1983. Trump’s war, following the Biden administration’s drawdowns during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has left America dangerously exposed. The critical Cushing, Oklahoma, oil hub has just 20 million barrels remaining—what experts described to CNN as the “operational stress level.”
Trump himself acknowledged the crisis at the G7 summit in Versailles, warning: “You want to see bedlam? We run out of reserves in about four weeks.”
Global supply crisis
The world lost 1.15 billion barrels of oil supply during the conflict, CNN reported. While the Trump administration scrambled to de-sanction Russian and Iranian oil and coordinated the largest emergency stockpile release in history, it wasn’t enough. Venezuela and Brazil ramped up production, but the damage was done.
Inflation eats wages
Annual inflation surpassed 4 percent for the first time in three years, driven entirely by energy prices. The Federal Reserve, now led by Trump’s hand-picked Chairman Kevin Warsh, refused to cut interest rates despite presidential pressure. Most damningly, inflation has now outpaced wage growth—meaning American workers effectively took a pay cut in April and May, the first time since 2023.
Trump has dismissed these concerns, bizarrely declaring “I love the inflation” and claiming prices would “come down like a rock.” But economists note the difference between slowing inflation and actual price decreases—a distinction Trump either fails to grasp or deliberately obscures.
A hollow victory
Consumer sentiment rose slightly in June after three months of decline, according to the University of Michigan, but remains near historic lows. Meanwhile, 13 American service members and over 7,500 civilians lost their lives.
The CNN report paints an unmistakable picture: Trump’s war was not a victory—it was a catastrophic miscalculation that drained American resources, depleted strategic reserves, crushed working families, and left the nation more vulnerable than it has been in decades. The President may claim Americans have “won,” but the numbers tell a very different story.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: tehrantimes.com
