The Iran war has cost U.S. households nearly $2,000 each. New strikes could keep the bill climbing | Fortune

U.S. forces struck Iran’s Qeshm Island on Nov. 2, the day before the midterms, in what officials described as a defensive response to Iranian surface-to-air missile use, following limited and unpublicized “defensive strikes” in prior weeks. The renewed strikes threaten energy markets that had priced in hopes of a diplomatic exit, with MIT Sloan’s Gilbert Metcalf warning they raise the odds of Iranian attacks on Strait of Hormuz shipping or regional oil and gas infrastructure. The war, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, has cost the U.S. military more than $47 billion, up from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s $37.5 billion July estimate, with over $29 billion going to replace expended munitions, according to Reuters. Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi estimates the conflict has cost the average U.S. household nearly $2,000. A ceasefire agreed in April and formalized in a June 17 memorandum of understanding collapsed within weeks and expired in August, with the Congressional Research Service describing a war of attrition by September. Markets will watch whether Tehran retaliates against shipping or energy infrastructure as winter heating demand arrives, a scenario Metcalf says could keep oil prices persistently high.