Mayor of New York criticizes cost of US intervention in the Middle East
- Recently, the mayor of New York expressed concern about the cost of the ongoing US war in the Middle East.
- Zohran Mamdani claims that Americans are spending over 500 million dollars per day to fund this conflict.
- This estimate aligns with recent academic research on the topic.
Since January 1, 2026, Zohran Mamdani, the socialist mayor of New York, has discussed the conflict in the Middle East and shared a critical view of the foreign policy conducted by the Trump administration. In an interview with NPR, the American public radio, on April 17, he questioned the need for spending “over 500 million dollars a day to kill people in Iran and Lebanon,” stating that it reflects a policy that has lost its meaning, according to the New York mayor.
The initial days of the operation were the most expensive
The figure mentioned by Zohran Mamdani raises eyebrows. If accurate, it would mean that a month of conflict would cost the United States at least 15 billion dollars. And if the war continued for a year, it would exceed 180 billion dollars. To determine if these are realistic amounts, one must examine the publicly shared data from US authorities.
In early March, the Pentagon provided data to Congress, indicating that the first six days of the “Epic Fury” operation alone cost a total of 11.3 billion dollars. This amount, as reported by the New York Times, did not include various costs associated with the operation, such as deploying military equipment and soldiers before the initial strikes. It was expected that this amount would significantly increase as assessments were made.
While these costs correspond to a daily expenditure of nearly 2 billion dollars, it would be inaccurate to use them as a reference point for extrapolations. The intense early bombardments and massive mobilization of engaged armed forces characterized the initial days of the American intervention in Iran. As the war continues, the number of strikes has significantly decreased, resulting in lower expenses.
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Without federal data covering a longer period, we rely on research conducted by non-governmental organizations. In early April, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania estimated the cost of the Middle East war. As part of the Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM), a center using advanced modeling tools to evaluate the impact of public policies on the federal budget, they estimated the total amount for the first thirty-two days to be between 27 and 28 billion dollars. Over a two-month scale, the operational costs ranged between 38 and 47 billion dollars. These researchers summarized the expenses during various phases in the provided table.
These studies corroborate the figures mentioned by Zohran Mamdani and emphasize the significant impact that the conflict’s evolution and the belligerents’ attitudes can have on the cost of war. The PWBM highlighted that the high initial cost of the “Epic Fury” operation was largely due to the use of expensive precision munitions. If new operations lead to increased strikes, the conflict’s cost for the United States could rise significantly.
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