The bill of money and blood…the numbers that accelerated the Washington-Tehran agreement policy

From Switzerland, the first round of high-level talks between the United States and Iran, to the neighborhoods of Tehran that still bear the effects of air strikes, the cost of the war seems too great to be reduced to its direct military consequences.

Behind the ongoing negotiations within the framework of the memorandum of understanding signed between Washington and Tehran in an effort to reach a permanent agreement, the numbers reveal a heavy bill paid by the parties to the conflict, the region, and the entire world.

American reports shed light on the costs accrued by 110 days of war that pushed both sides to the negotiating table, from the billions of dollars consumed by military operations, to the thousands of victims and displaced people, all the way to the repercussions that affected the global economy.

Economic invoice

Time magazine reviews the economic cost incurred by the United States as a result of the war on Iran, noting the following points:

• Jay Hurst, the Pentagon’s comptroller, revealed – in testimony he gave last May – that Operation Epic Fury cost American taxpayers about $29 billion.
• But media reports indicate that the actual cost of the war may be closer to $50 billion when taking into account the expenses of repairing the extensive damage to military bases, and compensating for the drones and missiles that were destroyed or lost during the operations.
• Analysts believe that the war will have long-term effects on American economic growth, in light of the need to address the accumulated financial costs.
• Democratic Senator Mark Kelly warned that restoring America’s munitions stockpile could take “years,” an estimate supported by military experts.
• The cost of replacing one Tomahawk missile ranges between $3 and $3.5 million, while the cost of a Patriot missile ranges between $4 and $5 million.

As for Iran, the magazine noted that the war has exacerbated the pressure on its economy, which has been suffering from chronic crises for years, noting that the Iranian government informed a Russian news agency last April that the conflict caused direct and indirect losses to the country estimated at about 270 billion dollars.

Civilian casualties

Human and civilian losses stand out as one of the most costly aspects of the war, as a Washington Post analysis indicates that despite months having passed since the outbreak of the war on February 28, it is still difficult to determine the final toll of victims and the extent of the destruction inside Iran.

Time and The Washington Post summarize the most prominent statistics related to the loss of life and Iranian infrastructure as follows:

• Last April, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) reported that 3,636 Iranians had been killed since the outbreak of the war.
• Figures collected from government data, health ministries, and human rights reports indicate that at least 2,100 of this toll are civilians, most of whom were killed as a result of US-Israeli raids.
• More than 2,000 strikes were recorded across Iran by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Organization (ACLED), noting that multiple strikes on the same site in one day are counted as one incident.
• The newspaper confirms that there is not yet a complete picture or comprehensive assessment of the extent of the victims and losses resulting from these strikes.
• The most comprehensive report on civilian harm, issued on May 18 by Iran Human Rights Activists, indicates that 1,701 civilians were killed between February 28 and April 8, including 307 children.
• The aforementioned report documented no less than 6,374 incidents related to American and Israeli operations inside Iran, 77% of which included human casualties among civilians or damage to civilian facilities.
• According to the same report, 50 hospitals and medical centers and 108 schools and educational institutions were damaged by the strikes.
• The Iranian Red Crescent Society estimated the number of damaged housing units at about 100,000 housing units.
• The report stated that at least 44% of the documented attacks occurred in Tehran Province, where military and government installations are adjacent to residential neighborhoods, schools, and business centers.
• The newspaper quotes the International Committee of the Red Cross as saying that the use of high-explosive munitions in densely populated areas, such as Tehran, is one of the most prominent causes of civilian casualties in armed conflicts.

From Hormuz to Lebanon

The repercussions of the war were not limited to the United States and Iran, but rather extended from the global economy to the displacement crisis in Lebanon, according to what was reported by TIME, which monitored the most prominent regional and international repercussions of the conflict, explaining the following:

Strait of Hormuz:

• The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of global oil trade passes, has led to widespread economic repercussions worldwide.
• The Institute for Economics and Peace estimated this June that the US-Iran war reduces global gross domestic product by about $2.2 trillion annually, warning that this number could rise significantly if peace efforts falter or fighting resumes.
• Oil prices exceeded $100 per barrel at the beginning of 2026, compared to levels that ranged between $67 and $71 per barrel before the outbreak of war.

Lebanon:

• The war cast a shadow over Lebanon, as the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that more than one million Lebanese have been displaced from their areas since the outbreak of the US-Iran war.
• Estimates indicate that about one in four people in Lebanon are facing severe levels of food insecurity that are classified as crisis or emergency stages.
• Reports attribute a large part of the waves of displacement to the continuation of Israeli military operations inside Lebanon despite the announcement of more than one ceasefire agreement during the past months.

The truce in Lebanon is part of the US-Iranian agreement that entered into force on June 18, 2026 after it was signed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump.

Since March 2, 2026, Israel has launched an aggression against Lebanon, killing 4,057 people and wounding 12,121 others, according to data from the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

Taken as a whole, these numbers reflect how the heavy bill of the war went beyond its two direct parties to affect the global economy and the humanitarian situation in the region, which contributed to strengthening the pressures aimed at stabilizing the truce and turning it into a permanent agreement between Washington and Tehran.