The US House of Representatives votes to end the war with Iran amid warnings of its high cost

The US House of Representatives voted for the third time in favor of ending the war with Iran, passing a resolution under the War Powers Act that would halt President Donald Trump's ability to continue military action without congressional approval.

According to the German News Agency, the result of the vote, which took place late on Tuesday evening, was 220 votes to 204, similar to previous attempts this summer, with a slightly larger number of Republicans joining all Democrats in voting in favor of ending the conflict. None of these decisions have reached the president's desk, where Trump is very likely to veto the decision.

Representative Seth Moulton, Democrat of Massachusetts, who served in the US Marines during the Iraq War and pushed for the resolution, said: “Do you remember when Donald Trump said this war would only last a few weeks?”

He considered that it was time for Congress to actually ask clear questions to the Trump administration, instead of approving its war-related decisions without discussion or accountability.

For his part, Republican Representative Brian Mast from Florida, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, believes that Iran still poses a threat.

Mast said Trump opposes “endless wars, and this is what puts an end to it,” pointing to decades of hostilities with Iran.

The cost of the Iran war is $38 billion

In a related context, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office stated yesterday (Tuesday) that the cost of the US war on Iran, which has been ongoing for six months, has reached $38 billion so far, and that this amount is expected to rise by three billion dollars per month.

According to the Reuters news agency, the Budget Office’s calculations, which included expenditures recorded until August 1, indicate the possibility that the war will lead to an increase in the inflation rate by 0.5 percent in the first three months of 2027.

The rising costs have depleted US ammunition stockpiles and soared energy prices, raising concerns about the country's ability to respond to further potential conflicts and increasing pressure on an already stretched federal budget.

The cost was close to the $37.5 billion reported by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at a Senate hearing on July 21.

Reuters reported in August that the United States used “almost all” of its long-range precision missiles during the war.

The Congressional Budget Office reported that the Department of Defense did not cooperate with congressional auditors.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly described President Donald Trump's attacks on Iran as a "decisive measure" to prevent Tehran from harming American individuals or interests. She said in a statement that the US Army possesses “sufficient and increased ammunition and stocks to meet all the strategic objectives of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and beyond.”

Sean Parnell, chief spokesman for the US Department of Defense (Pentagon), questioned the report’s conclusions indicating a shortage of munitions, saying: “We have everything necessary to launch strikes at a time and place of the president’s choosing.”

The investigation was conducted at the request of the Democratic leader of the US House of Representatives Budget Committee, Brendan Boyle from Pennsylvania.

Boyle said in a statement: “Donald Trump’s disastrous war in Iran has claimed the lives of brave American soldiers and left others wounded.”

He continued: “In addition to these human losses, the report of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office shows that the war also cost American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, and the costs are still rising.”

18 members of the US armed forces were killed in the war with Iran.

The report did not include the costs of the latest strikes that targeted commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on US military installations in the region. It also did not take into account the borrowing expenses associated with financing the war, which could add tens of billions of dollars to the total cost.

Impact on US readiness

CBO calculations concluded that the war would have wide-ranging consequences for the defense posture of the United States and the economy at home.

The bureau said shortages of vital munitions, including interceptor missiles, threaten to hamper the Defense Department's response in the event of another major conflict, such as potential hostilities between China and Taiwan.

At a Senate hearing in July, Hegseth appealed for legislation to pass nearly $90 billion in emergency funding to replenish the munitions stockpile.

“Without this money, we will face serious shortages,” Hegseth said.

The Pentagon's Inspector General reported this week that Iran damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings at US bases in the Middle East, as well as aircraft, including fighter jets, refueling aircraft, and drones.

The shocks to the energy sector resulting from the war and attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, the sea lane through which nearly 20 percent of the world's oil supplies passed before the war, led to a sharp rise in prices for global consumers and producers.

The high cost of the war also threatens to put pressure on the deteriorating American financial situation, as the country's total public debt exceeded $40 trillion in August.

Trump regularly compares the war with Iran to America's invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Reuters reported that the cost of the eight-year American war in Iraq, in which more than 100,000 soldiers participated on the ground at its peak, amounted to two trillion dollars.

As for the American conflict in Afghanistan, which lasted for two decades, and also involved more than 100,000 soldiers in its most intense period, data from the “Costs of War” project of Brown University indicate that its cost amounted to 2.3 trillion dollars.