Iran War Has Cost at Least $47 Billion, Says Tampa-Based CENTCOM, as Florida Gas Holds Above $4

The U.S. war with Iran has cost the American military at least $47.1 billion as of mid-October, according to a new estimate from U.S. Central Command, the Tampa-based headquarters that has run the campaign from MacDill Air Force Base since it began Feb. 28. The figure, provided to lawmakers and obtained by CBS News, is nearly $10 billion higher than the estimate Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Congress in July, and it does not include the cost of repairing U.S. bases in the Middle East damaged by Iranian drones and missiles. It lands days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with Florida drivers still paying more than $4 a gallon for gas.

Where the $47 billion went

Most of the money has gone to replacing weapons fired during the war. CENTCOM's estimate breaks the total into three categories, according to CBS News:

Because damage to U.S. installations in the region is excluded, the true cost is higher. Many of those bases were targeted by Iranian drones and missiles over the course of the conflict, CBS News reported. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to the network's request for comment.

A rising tally

The new number continues a steady climb in official estimates as the war approaches its ninth month. Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 21 that the war had cost about $37.5 billion, also excluding damaged bases, as he defended the administration's request for supplemental military funding. In September, a new U.S. military estimate put the cost at $43.6 billion, according to reports at the time.

The official estimates have grown as follows:

The Congressional Budget Office said last month that the war could cost $2 billion to $3 billion a month while it continues, partly because of the expense of replacing interceptor missiles, CBS News reported. Costs could climb during exchanges of fire, which were common over the summer but have been quiet in recent weeks.

The munitions question

The heavy spending on munitions has raised concerns about stockpiles. The Pentagon's inspector general said last month the United States faces "strategic inventory shortfalls" because of weapons expended in the war, and the Defense Department is working to speed up production, according to CBS News.

President Donald Trump has played down those concerns. In early September, he said the country has "virtually unlimited amounts of Mid to High Grade Ammunition, far more than we could ever use."

Earlier this year, the administration asked Congress for tens of billions of dollars in supplemental military funding, driven in part by the Iran war. That request has not passed. Democrats have pressed Hegseth for a more detailed accounting of what the war has cost.

Florida's front-row seat: CENTCOM at MacDill

For Florida, the war is run close to home. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations across the Middle East, is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base on Tampa's Interbay Peninsula. Adm. Brad Cooper took command there on Aug. 8, 2025, the first naval officer to lead CENTCOM since 2008, and he ordered the start of Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S. and Israeli campaign against Iran, on Feb. 28, 2026.

CENTCOM said at the time that U.S. and partner forces began striking targets at 1:15 a.m. Eastern time. Hegseth later visited CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa in March to get updates on the operation from Cooper, according to a command release.

That makes the Tampa Bay area the planning and command hub for a war whose costs are now being tallied in Washington. The estimate released this week came from the command's own accounting, provided to lawmakers.

Trump's Fort Myers warning

The war has also been part of the campaign trail in Florida. At a rally Friday, Oct. 23, at Alico Arena on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus in Fort Myers, Trump said, "We may do another little Epic Fury," as he urged Iran to reach a deal, according to CBS News and Associated Press coverage. He has suggested he could restart hostilities after the midterm elections unless Iran agrees to terms.

At the same rally, Trump revived the idea of U.S. military intervention in Cuba, saying American warships returning from the Middle East could stop near the island on their way home. The Associated Press reported that voters have expressed concern about how the war has affected prices, from gas to groceries, and that Trump has long forecast the war's winding down, which has not yet happened.

What it means at the pump

Floridians are still paying for the conflict at the gas station. Florida's average price for regular gasoline was $4.09 a gallon on Monday, Oct. 26, a penny higher than a week earlier and nearly $1.20 above a year ago, according to AAA figures reported by the News Service of Florida. Prices have ranged from $4.02 to $4.22 since late September.

Diesel, which drives the cost of moving freight and goods, averaged $6.14 a gallon in Florida, up 8 cents in a week and $2.59 higher than a year ago. Escambia County had the state's cheapest gas at $3.67, while Monroe County, which includes the Florida Keys, was highest at $4.38. Nationally, regular gas averaged $4.29.

AAA said prices are expected to decrease as refineries and stations switch to cheaper winter-blend gasoline, but noted that any decrease continues to be offset by high crude oil prices.

What's next

The new estimate adds pressure on Congress as it weighs the administration's still-pending supplemental funding request, and Democrats who have pressed for a fuller accounting now have a figure that still leaves out damage to U.S. bases. With the CBO projecting $2 billion to $3 billion in added costs each month the war continues, the tally will keep rising unless a deal is reached.

For Florida voters heading to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 3, the war's direction may hinge on what happens after Election Day, given Trump's suggestion that hostilities could resume if Iran does not agree to terms. Any renewed fighting would again be directed from CENTCOM headquarters at MacDill in Tampa.