What could you buy with the money spent by the US during the Iran war’s first week?
Mar 12, 2026, 1:54 PM
The image above shows estimated breakdowns of what could be purchased with $11.3B, the total cost of the Iran war for the U.S. during the first week of the war. (AP Digital Embed)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Digital Embed)
NEW YORK (AP) — How many times have you asked yourself the question, “If I hadn’t spent this, what could I have bought?”
That can be true with wars, too.
The Trump administration’s war with Iran, which cost the United States more than $11.3 billion during its first week, could have bought a lot of things. Sometimes figures are so big that it’s hard to get your brain around them. Here, The Associated Press approximates what that kind of money could buy if it was broken down to smaller — and even individual — levels.
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Associated Press reporter Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed. For more graphics about the U.S.-Iran War, click here. This graphic will also be available on that page.
